168 hours.

155:11 as of the time I started to write this.

That’s how many hours and minutes left in the week I have to accomplish whatever I want to accomplish.

There’s a blog post written by Tim Urban about breaking your life into weeks. I read this years ago, but it’s always been something I’ve kept in mind, but not as much as I should. Supposing that we see it right in front of us, like a poster that I may have just ordered off Amazon, we’ll be more mindful of the time that we have left. How much of that time do we want to spend building our vusiness, cultivating a good time with friends, spending quality time with my partner, playing a video game, watching a movie, reading, writing, exercising, sleeping or watching porn?

Definitely reading more.

……………………right.

There’s 168 hours in a week. That’s how much time EVERYONE has in total. Let’s think about it like a personal marathon. Not the rat race, but the big picture. Each week is on a timer. So let’s say there’s 4,000 “marathons.” 80 years, 52 weeks to a year, but we may not make it that far and we may make it further… so 4,000 marathons is a much easier number to deal with. 4,000 weeks means 672,000 total hours on these timers.

Think of that… We won’t even live a million hours. Damn. We throw around this idea that a million isn’t a lot of anything these days, but that’s how finite life really is. We barely make it halfway to a million! “There’s always more time,” says my procrastinating mind. But the numbers don’t lie. There ISN’T that much time. So how much are we going to spend working that 9-5, grinding it out to get ahead? No one on their deathbed ever says that they wish they spent more time working on their business.

Confession time: I’m 36 years old and 4 weeks at the moment of writing this. That means that roughly 341,400 hours of my life have passed. Now, let’s reflect upon that. There are some accomplishments I’m proud of. Bachelors Degree (somehow), various martial arts accomplishments, nice apartment, my best friend has been my partner for over 10 years, mindfully I feel sound… I guess I’m just genuinely happy with where I’m at considered the state I was in at the 150,000 mark (18ish). So what now? The stage is set, where do we go?

*As I wrote that, the sun peaked through the clouds and hit me in the eyes through the dreariest of clouds, through the skylight, through the poles on the loft, past the wooden mean overhead … onto my face. The sun always shines through.

Back to what I was saying. *AHEM* So what now?

Setting the foundation is always the most important step in building anything, right? Analogies are fun, let’s use some of those…

When you start to build a home, what happens first? You set the foundation. It gets dug out and the concrete is poured so that you can lay the wood on top of it.

Before you go for a long journey, what must you do? Plan your route and pack for survival and emergencies.

When you workout, you need to warmup first. Unless you want to get injured, but that’s silly.

We can do this forever, but we all get the point, right? Time must be spent first before taking on anything. Energy must be spent in preparation for a more arduous expenditure of thought and energy. Surely there’s some sort of logical equation for that… E=MC²…? Yup, that’s got to be it.

At the end of each race, journey, accomplishment, etc. there’s a celebration of some sort. Hell, people do 5k’s just to drink the beer at the end. There always needs to be a release on the steam valve, otherwise there’s big “booms.” Booms can be bad… very bad. So how many of these celebrations do we take? How long do they go? When have we earned them? All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All play and no work makes Jack a wild hedonist with alcohol issues.

“Life is too short.” “You only live once.” “No shoes, no shirt, no service.”

I’ll wear shoes into 7-11, that’s not the issue. “Work hard, play hard.” Okay, but WHEN?!

Is it about being regimented? Is it about being balanced? Is it about pursuit of purpose? Is it about pursuit of passion? Is your passion your purpose? Is your purpose your passion? Is your erection lasting longer than 4 hours?

FUCK.

What weighs important to us? I need an adult. Let’s check out Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs real quick…

Safety? Check. Could always need a few extra bucks, but good for now.

Love and belonging? Personally, very blessed and set in this department. If you struggle here, highly recommend finding a martial art that you want to learn and a great environment to train in. Message me if you want more on that. Seen the best of the best and worst of the worst.

Esteem? Check. Wasn’t easy for a while… but definitely in a good spot after many, MANY hours of struggling.

Aesthetics? There’s beauty in everything and everyone. Beauty and the Beast covered that a long time ago. Check.

Self Actualization? “an explicit motive is the objective of a reward-based system that is used to intrinsically drive completion of certain values or goals.” ….. rut roh, Shaggy. Perhaps I should work on setting and accomplishing goals? Maybe chasing a purpose more? Spend more time asking myself what I want my purpose to be?

Transcendence? “In his later years, Maslow explored a further dimension of motivation, while criticizing his original vision of self-actualization.^{[18][19][20][21]} By these later ideas, one finds the fullest realization in giving oneself to something beyond oneself—for example, in altruism or spirituality.”

….wait. Do we need to HAVE self-actualization set to reach Transcendence? Or can it be bullshit and we realize we’re destined for more later? But if we’re a collective and it’s not about me, is even thinking about my role in it all creating an obstacle? Do I need to meditate to find a new purpose, something bigger than myself? How do I get rid of this headache that just instantly came on after writing that?

“Ignorance is bliss.”

/shrug

Takeaways…

• I ramble too much. Possibly may need to work on my focus.
• PIORITIZE SLEEP. You naturally heal physically and mentally here. Yes, you’ll sleep when you’re dead, but you’ll be there much sooner without sleeping well consistently.
• Take care of your teeth. They’re expensive AF.
• Teach the youth valuable lessons to help them build their foundations as youth is wasted on the young.
• The big questions are the hardest and become the most meaningful down the life… and we’re blessed that we have the opportunity to ask them.
• Taking care of the vehicle for the mind (your body) gives you the best chance for the most hours, but it’s all a roll of the dice at the end. An Okinawan phrase I’d hear a lot was “Eat to 70%” and a Taoist priest used to tell me “Food is medicine.” Goes hand in hand with “What you put in, is what you get out.” Wouldn’t put cheap oil in your Ferrari … would you?
• Read, journal, and find a creative pursuit regardless of where you’re at. This will only help all other aspects of your life… and remember, you’re meant for better things than data input or working for Amazon.
• Doing SOMETHING is better than nothing. One pushup is better than none. Reading one page is better than none. Cleaning 1 dish is better than none.
• Put in effort to remember people’s names. A rose is a rose by any other name, but to be remembered means a lot.
• Celebrate being alive, however you may do so. Eat some pizza, play a little longer, play hooky once in a while…Life is difficult and many were lost too early.
• Spread positivity. That means…
  • Use positive language inside your mind and outside. The language you use is the reality you create.
  • Be kind.
  • Smile and try to make others smile
  • Throw away your trash and a piece or 2 of trash that isn’t yours daily.
  • Always try to make people’s lives easier.
  • Ask how you can help.
  • Lastly… PUT YOUR GROCERY CART IN THE RETURN

I’m sure there’s far more I could add, but we only have 24 hours a day… and 168 a week, and roughly 672,000 in our lives and I’ve been writing enough for today. Remember, how we use them, how we react to what happens in them, and how we celebrate them is ENTIRELY up to us. Whatever IT is, you can’t take it beyond this life. As we’re all just visiting…