I was watching a video the other day about managing time. Someone said that Elon Musk and Bill Gates block out their days in five-minute increments to organize themselves. Whether that is true or not I have no idea, but if it is and it works for them then that’s great.
It just isn’t how I want to live.
Some of my favourite memories are from times when I wasn’t doing anything.
When I lived in Mexico, there was a guy there who could play the flute. One night we were on the beach and the sound of the melodic notes still ring through my mind even now, so many years later. In Puerto Rico I met a professional trumpet player. I would hear him practicing when I was on the beach walking. It was something I looked forward to every day.
The best memories are the ones when something happened that wasn’t expected or planned.
Big-picture thinking seems like a good thing to do, but I’m not sure that it has been the most important factor in getting me from one place to the next. When I look back at how I thought my life would unfold, it never really did the way I thought it would.
No, I’m not a billionaire or even all that successful based on how most people judge success. I am happy and healthy though, and to me that is all that I ever hoped to achieve.
If you have ever spent a big part of your life feeling unwell, you will know how much feeling good matters. It’s actually the most important thing to me, because if you don’t feel well it is next to impossible to enjoy anything about life.
It isn’t just physical wellness though. The mind also plays a big part in the amount of enjoyment life brings to you in any moment.
Anxiety is a big issue these days. Young people tend to talk about it like it’s something natural, something to be proud of. Medication is common to treat anxiety in kids and adults alike.
But why are we so worried all of the time? These are supposed to be the glory days. There are so many inventions and innovations that have made life physically much easier. Machines do all of the work for us, and we have lots of time to pursue whatever we decide is important to us.
With social media and the internet, we are now able to see how others are doing. Then we naturally compare ourselves to that and feel like we don’t measure up. Planning to retire at 40? Well, someone else is retiring at 30. Starting a company by the time you are 25? What took so long? There are entrepreneurs who aren’t out of high school yet pulling in six-figure incomes.
The ease that technology was supposed to bring to our lives has almost backfired. Now we are in a hurry to get everything done and get somewhere that doesn’t exist because we don’t know when enough will be enough.
Being a millionaire used to be the pinnacle of achievement. Now if you aren’t a billionaire you aren’t trying hard enough. Parents push their kids to go to school, get the best grades, excel in sports, go to university, participate in multiple activities, learn different languages, and find wonderful careers. The expectations are high and the kids feel the pressure.
At some point, life stopped being fun. It’s no different than having to fight for physical survival like our ancestors did, but now the battle is in the mind.
There are no solutions here. I honestly don’t know what would make things better. For me, I have always found a sense of peace in taking the time to watch the sun rise and set, to enjoy the songs of birds as they go about their business, and to curl up with a good book that doesn’t necessarily further my chances to become rich and successful. It’s just something I enjoy.
I am intentionally choosing a slower-paced life, because I know what anxiety can do to me on a physical level.
Health is the biggest achievement of my life. I know that I am rich beyond measure because I feel good.