Once You Realise...

...that life is quite finite and can be totalled up into a set number of hours, you either get very depressed or you get extremely motivated! "If this is all the time I have, I'd better get on with it!" "Why am I wasting all my time on this (insert non-fulfilling work, standing in line, long commutes, toxic relationships here)?" Realising that there are just so many hours left is like any other deadline human beings come up against, the deadline appears and all of a sudden we get down to accomplishing what we want to get done.

That realisation is important because before that takes place, you simply flit through life acting as though it will continue forever. Work a job that bores you to tears? Oh, well, it's a paycheck. Actually, it's a great deal more than that it's 40 hours of your lifetime that you are giving up each week. Is that how you want to 'spend' that time?

Once you realise (if you don't go down the depression route) and once the motivation to do more with your remaining hours sets in, a whole world opens up. Where before life was work, TV, mall, all of a sudden there are an infinite variety of options for living in new and different ways. Even simple activities become choices about how you prefer to spend your time, time wasted or time which gives you a significant return on your investment. Do you really want to spend two hours every week at the grocery store? Or would setting up a shopping list at an online grocer that you click through in 15 minutes every two weeks give you the time to spend with your children or on a favourite hobby?

Simple activities can turn from waste to value, trash to treasure, if you will. But that's just the small stuff, you say! What about the fact that I've used up half my hours and the way my life is currently structured I only have a few thousand of that 750,000 left for me? Makes you motivated, doesn't it? Makes you want to explore what other options there are for you spend your hours wisely, rather than just existing?

The first step is awareness. In our next posts, we'll explore the steps for moving from being aware and motivated to actually making the changes that allow you move from letting your hours slip through your fingers to using your hours to live out your dreams.