The Time of Your Life
“What is the most significant aspect of your life?” That was a question posed by Indian author and yogi Sadhguru in one of his recent YouTube videos. The answer? “You are alive right now!”
I believe that many of us busy humans lose sight of this fundamental fact—that we are alive right now, at this time in human history. I won’t delve into deep philosophical pondering or spiritual wonder about “why we are here,” but I do think there is tremendous value in taking the time to reflect on our aliveness.
When we stop to consider that more than 250,000 people on the planet pass away from natural causes every day, it becomes clear that we are incredibly fortunate to be alive. Yay, we are alive! But the real question is: are we living the life we truly want to live?
As soon as we are born and take our first breath outside the womb, our clocks start ticking. We spend much of our first two decades just trying to figure things out, while family, religion, society, and culture shape us and imprint our thought and belief systems. In our youth, we are often unaware of the construct of time. We take it for granted, assuming we’ll always have ample time to live freely.
We reach adulthood, and from there, we make our way in the world, doing our best to build a life for ourselves. Life happens, and as we navigate it, our consciousness around time gradually shifts toward a sense of scarcity. Time becomes something in short supply: “It’s getting late,” or “I have to get this done ASAP,” or “I’m running out of time.”
As we age, we become even more aware of the rapidly dwindling nature of our remaining time. We start to appreciate time more, as our own mortality comes into focus, and we wonder: What have we truly done with our lives? Will our lives matter in the end?
“Be good for something while you live and it is in your power.” - Marcus Aureliius
Many people, it seems, are slogging through life, filled with struggle, strife, and injustice, waiting and hoping for a better someday. We live, we work, and then we die. The end. Is that it? I don’t know about you, but I can’t accept that this is the extent of existence. What’s the point of being alive?
In his book The Power of Purpose, author Richard Leider presents his readers with a quiz called the “Aliveness Questionnaire,” designed to help individuals gauge their state of being, or more simply, the level of “aliveness” they are experiencing. One of the questions on the quiz is: “Do I feel like my life matters?”
“One of the reasons people get old - lose their aliveness – is that they get weighed down by all of their stuff.” - Richard Leider
Do our lives matter?
Each of us will have our own unique perspective on what makes a life matter. Finding that meaning, of course, is a personal journey.
The universally accepted answer to this question is that your life matters because of the positive impact you have on others and the world—the love and connections you foster, the meaning you find in your experiences, and the actions you take.
When we take the time to consider what truly makes up our lives, it can be helpful to ask ourselves:
Am I making worthy investments with my most precious assets—my time and energy?
Years ago, when I had my coaching practice, I encouraged clients to do an exercise called “The Time of Your Life,” which provided insight into how they were spending their time and energy in their day-to-day lives, allocated across four key categories:
Work and/or school (including hours worked and commute time)
Life’s necessities (sleeping, eating, bathing, household maintenance, grocery shopping— the basics of life)
Family and social commitments (tending to the needs of children, elders, pets, friends, and community)
Time for self (relaxing, recharging, fitness, self-care, socializing)
The resulting picture allowed them to recognize imbalances in their lives. The workaholics were able to see how much of their lives were spent working, many in jobs or at companies that were exhausting them rather than yielding any real satisfaction for them. Every one of my clients discovered a significant deficit in the “time-for-self” category, which meant they rarely invested their precious time and energy in themselves. Instead, they had been sacrificing their joy and unknowingly investing their time in areas that drained their energy, without realizing it.
“Where you invest your love, you invest your life” - Mumford and Sons, Awake my Soul lyrics
I encourage you to conduct a similar audit of how you’re spending your time. It is well worth it! You may find that you’re squandering time on things that don't matter in the grand scheme of life. For example, a parent might be doomscrolling on her phone while her toddler amuses herself with an iPad, missing the opportunity to engage in play and create shared moments that truly matter.
The key is to keep company only with people who uplift you, whose presence calls forth your best. - Epictetus
You are the company you keep. Who are you spending your time with?
Another crucial aspect to consider is who you’re surrounding yourself with. Are you actively curating relationships with people who nourish you? Leider refers to these individuals as “nutritious people”—those whose faces light up when they see you, who show they care in numerous ways, and who are there to support you when you most need them. Conversely, there may be a few energy vampires in your life—those who drain you or bring you down, or people who treat you poorly or are outright toxic.
With awareness, you can choose to stop leaking your energy to people who aren’t worthy of your time or attention.
The bottom line is that you have the power within you to make your life meaningful in a variety of ways: through your personal fulfillment and growth, the relationships you value and who value you. Your life matters through your meaningful contribution to something larger than yourself, helping others, creating good in the world. You matter as a result of the values you form, your kindness, compassion, and your pursuit of purpose.
The key is to gain awareness of how, what, and with whom you are spending your assets so that you can consciously create your life—a life you enjoy, a life filled with positivity, a life that matters—starting right now. While you’re still alive. Because you matter. Period.
“One day or day one. You decide.” — Unknown
###
