Halfway There

There exists the possibility that I am more than halfway done with my life…or that I’m not even halfway there. But let’s assume I make it to 90: today is the halfway point of my life.

I had a much longer post in honor of turning 45, one in which I looked back at my life in 5-year intervals and offered advice to my past self, but as I’ve gotten older — even if something interests me — there comes a point where I think:

“I could be hanging out with my wife right now…”
“I could be working on a novel right now…”
“I could be out for a walk right now…”

How I Spend My Time

There are so many other things I choose to focus on if I’m going to spend an hour or two making something. It’s not that the longer entry I had originally written didn’t hold my interest or that it wasn’t good…I just found it taking effort that I would rather spend on other things.

I feel that way more and more as I get older
. It’s no revelation — I’ve known the day would come when I didn’t care to consume as much and share my thoughts about what I take in.

Advice to My Future Self

So instead of looking back at the first 45 years of my life, I look ahead with a focus on what works for me:

Take time to do a handful of things that mean the most to you as well as you can…and then push yourself even more. Let the rest fall away. (You do not have to do all the things.)

More than ever, strive for quality over quantity.

Unless your day job is your passion, a job is a job. It doesn’t hurt if it’s a good job, but at the end of your life, no one is going to be at your deathbed saying, “Thank you for giving up so much of your life to 60-hour weeks working on something that we no longer even do!”

To that point, it would be really sad to look back at the end of your life and think, “Man, those years spent arguing online about politics, pop culture, or the rage du jour sure were my best days…”

Find the silence in the moment, and never be afraid to be alone with just your thoughts for hours; in fact, use your brain before using your smartphone (or whatever distraction comes along next) to satisfy the urge to be “doing something.”

Even if you are right, yelling at walls is a poor way to spend your time when it can be spent doing much more productive things.

Be okay with being alone. And when you’re with other people, let their company remind you that in friendship and love, you have the most important thing there is.