LIMITED TIME - ARE YOU WASTING IT? - CHALLENGE #40

“Your time is limited, don’t waste it living someone else’s life.”           

                         Steve Jobs

Right now, one of my sons is at that place in his life.  Graduating high school and trying to figure out what he should do with his life . . . he is hearing advice here, there and everywhere.  Still, nothing is jumping out at him.   

We've always tried to encourage our kids to do something with their lives that brings them satisfaction and fulfillment. Even, when you love your job, you will still have some days that just are long and boring.   But, when you find yourself in a job you didn't choose, despise or dread going to ... everyday may well be long and boring.  Fifty years of that isn't too exciting and surely doesn't get your adrenalin pumping.

Even those of us that are adults . . . what a drag when you feel you are just another cog in the wheel. We all like to think that anything is possible - no matter where we are in our life circumstances and no one wants to be reminded how much their life sucks, do they?  Every once in a while, you bump into people who are just bubbling over about the incredible state of their affairs as they ramble on and on about their fantastic lives and their fantastic kids, their fantastic marriages, their fantastic holidays, their fantastic this and their fantastic that.  One of two things, often happens in that case ...

you find that old green monster popping up or you start beating yourself up. 

I'm not really sure why we figure everyone else has it all figured out and that we are somehow lacking or missing out on something.  The longer I live and the more people I get to really know, the more I realize that there are an awful lot of lonely and lost people out there.  So many are trying so hard to fit in and appear to have it all together - to the point, they are not even being true to themselves.  Peer pressure can exist at every stage in  your life. For sure, some people are good at presenting a certain (or expected) image but eventually things start to go south for them, too.  Look at all those models, athletes, movie stars and singers that dump their families, crash and burn, or take their lives.  It's hard keeping up with a lifestyle image that isn't built on truth.  Same can hold true for us everyday run-of-the-mill mortals.

On a positive note, there are those that do have a joy and passion for what they have or are doing.  There are lots of people out there to admire -and, in my humble opinion, the ones most worthy of being admired aren't celebrities but rather, those that probably live in your own neighhourhood, family, or workplace.  If you see someone that has the kinds of attributes that you admire, that's great, but why just admire them and wish away your life?  The only difference between them and you is that they have developed theirs.  Make the effort to do the same.  Then, you can look in the mirror and be proud of yourself and not wishing it was different for you. 

It's funny how many people you meet that whine.  Me included.  We don't like how this is being done.  We don't like how that is turning out.  We wish that we had gone back to school or changed jobs, so that we could do what we really wanted to do.  We want our kids to get focused and stay focused or our spouses to get on board with whatever we are planning. The paycheque sucks, our in-laws make us nuts, we can't stand our houses, we never go anywhere interesting, nothing ever goes right, we are continuously passed by for promotions, and on and on. 

I am in awe of the endless numbers of blogs and sites on the Internet dedicated to improving our life, our outlook and/or anything else that needs improving.  We can always learn a little (or a lot) from some of those sites.  But, they all seem to say the same thing.   Do it.  Just do it.  The problem is ... we don't do it but we expect things to change.  So, .... we whine or just stay in our misery.  I can be a patient person but I have my limits.  I've been known to SNAP when I've had enough and I find myself blurting out things like, "Really?  When are you going to stop whining about it and do something?"  Yes - I realize, I will never be asked to volunteer for some crisis hot line but . . . I think so many people out there, simply need to stop whining and do something.  Even one single thing can be the catalyst for change.  I suspect the Self Help books at the book store are often big sellers.  People buy them and have such high hopes only to lose interest in the book half way.  Or it gets read, keypoints are highlighted, but that's where it ends. Nothing changes. 


Maybe we don't even realize we are miserable or whining.  That happens.  Then, one day we wake up and as they say, "smell the coffee" and we have an epiphany.  At that point, we either truly become downhearted or say, "ENOUGH!  SOMETHING'S GOING TO CHANGE!"  I've always admired those that have done the latter.  So often, we get discouraged because we see so many road blocks.  I think that is when being disheartened happens.  Fear of the unknown.  Fear of failure.  Fear of people laughing at us.  What most people don't realize is, that more often than not, people admire those who do what others only wished they could do.  Sometimes, the one holding us back is . . . us.

It's the very few that decide that life is too short to waste it wishing away their life.  Nothing much changes until we decide it will.  So . . . now what?

I guess the ball is always in our court.  Some will say, "that's ok . . . I have come to a place where I'm ok with everything."  And, that's ok, too.  But, if you aren't and that little voice inside you says, "No.  Go for it.  Do it!"  Then, you need to find a way. There is no shame in being a LATE BLOOMER ... check these brave souls out:

Colonel Sanders - he was 65 when he started KFC.   

Ray Kroc - he was a milkshake machine sales man - at 52 (when most people are thinking of retiring) he began McDonalds.

Laura Ingalls Wilder became a writer in her forties and began writing the famous series, "Little House on the Prairie" when she was sixty-five.

Grandma Moses began her painting at 75.

Ben Hur was written by an American Govenor at the age of 53.

Golda Meir became the 4th prime minister of Israel at 70.


      Julia Child was 49 when
      her first cookbook was
      published.





Peter Mark Roget, a retired doctor, published the famous Roget's Thesaurus at the age of 73. 

At the age of 72, Oscar Swahn won an Olympic silver medal.

Henry Ford created the first car assembly line at 62. 

Food For Thought: 

Men do not quit playing
because they grow old;
they grow old

because they quit playing.

                          Oliver Wendell Holmes

It is never to late to be the person YOU were meant to be.

What are you waiting for?

See You Next Week!  15 More Challenges and then I'm done!

  

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