The Time Barrier to Your Best Life

“I’m too old for this.”
“It’s too late for that.”
“It’s going to take too long to get there.”

We have timelines in mind for everything. By our 30s, we expect to be established in a career. If we don’t like our career choice past that age, we let ourselves switch—as long as we can make it happen within an age-appropriate timeframe, i.e. fast. We plan for the future, save for the future, and live in the future. The result? We narrow down our nearly limitless options in the present and choose a lifetime of daily compromise, never reaching true fulfillment.

What’s the alternative? Thinking differently about time—and life. Optimizing for the present and the potential future rather than the predictable future. Thinking about something you’d enjoy doing and a life you’ll love living while you’re in the process of getting to your lofty goal, so even if it takes a long time, you’re enjoying the moment too much to care.

I’m not saying we shouldn’t have practical considerations—we absolutely should. But “where there’s a will, there’s a way” isn’t a cliché for nothing. If we don’t give up before we start, there’s always a creative—if sometimes challenging—way to make things happen. When we give ourselves the easy out of “it’s too late” or “it would take too long”, we never get to be creative. We do get to excuse our inaction.

Everything I do takes longer than I think it should. Everything. I notice my mind constantly reminding me that I’m “behind”. But I wake up every day believing in my path and love my work the vast majority of the time. I also have no desire to go back to the supposedly easier life I had when I did what was “responsible” and socially acceptable. When I get to where I want to go, will it matter how long it took?

What becomes available if you change your relationship to time?

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