These are finite resources. It’s really important to internalize this concept, because you can go through life for a long, long time before the penny drops on this one. I’ve always over estimated what I could do with a given set of resources within a specific amount of time, and as I have gotten older I recognize this more clearly. For the purpose of this post I don’t want to get bogged down in the pros and cons of operating like this, but I do want to focus on the idea of making some very conscious decisions as to how best you might spend the time and energy you have (left). I put “left” in parenthesis because although this is a critical point at all times of life, it becomes even more important as you get older. Time and energy will, at some point, run out.
So what exactly am I saying here? I guess I’m saying make sure you are allowing yourself time to do the things you really want to do, and try and prevent time wasted on projects or relationships that just aren’t that important. Ask yourself “If I had a year left to live, how important is (insert activity, person or thing here) to me? Is there something in particular I would like to do or (at least attempt to) accomplish before I die?
I’m not saying everything needs to be carefully weighed and planned – one should always be open to the opportunities life presents us with, and we should always have the flexibility and spontaneity to change what we are doing based on those opportunities.
But always be aware of the little black holes in your life that are sucking your time and energy into them with little or no reward. You must ruthlessly cut them out like a cancer…