Life is an unpredictable joyous mess. Life is short. Life is what we make it. Life can suck or life can be amazing.
From our birthday to our deathday, we are largely in charge of how we spend our time.
Zoom out for a second. Picture the earth and then pretend you were backing away at the speed of light. Consider the grandiose size of the vast universe. Don’t do it for too long as it will make your head spin.
Check out the short video below for a visual demonstration of how small we are.
Not that you need an existential crisis to deal with but my life and your life, compared to the size and age of the universe, are so minuscule it’s almost not worth mentioning.
Some people get lost here.
I don’t. You shouldn’t either.
Life is what we make it. If it’s short, then so be it. We can only control so much. Yes, we should live healthy and productive lives, but we can’t predict what might randomly happen today, tomorrow, or next week.
Each of us could be on our last day, or have several left. We just don’t know…
This post is a look at the reasons we should remember that life is short and make the most out of every day.
We will look at ten reasons every 24 hours is important, and how to get started.
Let’s dive in and learn how to live a life so impactful that the ripples of our good deeds and influential actions spread across the cosmos.
Are you ready to make it one hell of a life?
1) Seize the Day by Starting Small Because Life is Well… Short!
“You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” –C. S. Lewis
You don’t know how long you have left to live. No one can tell you your deathday. Treat every day like a fresh beginning to live the life you want to live.
Start small and make a slight change.
Make today the first day you dive into what you’ve been holding back on, or rededicate your life to your mission.
Life is a series of iterations, pivot moments, and challenges. We can’t control much of what happens to us, but I’m convinced of the power of directing our moments and deciding what to do with our day.
It’s impossible to plan what we will do on this day five years from now, but we can, with almost absolute certainty, plan what we will do with the next 30 minutes.
Practice: After reading this post, make a plan to spend 30 minutes of intentional time working on your #1 goal or task. Do what is most important.
Discover: Rome Wasn’t Built in a Day, Neither Did it Fall: The Easy Way to Guarantee Success
2) Maximize Your Greatest Asset: Time
“I expect to pass through the world but once. Any good therefore that I can do, or any kindness that I can show to any fellow creature, let me do it now. Let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.” –Stephen Grellet
Time is our greatest asset and the ultimate equalizer. We each have 24 hours to make the most of every day.
Each day is an opportunity to choose how to spend the remaining hours of each day.
You can spend them relaxing (which isn’t a terrible idea) or hustling on your #1 goal.
The important thing here is to choose. Don’t let your life default to how you are feeling in the moment or of just doing what is expected of you. Go out and get it.
Practice: Conduct a time audit. Get real with yourself and how you spend your time each day. Writing it out can help. Look at your internet browser history if you need to. Come to grips with how you really spend your time each day and start making the most of your time.
Discover: Where Does Your Time Go Each Day? How to Run a Time Audit in 5 Steps [with Free Template]
3) Seize the Day Because You Want To
“You are always free to change your mind and choose a different future, or a different past.” –Richard Bach
Make each day an effort to reach toward that which you desire most. Channel your desire for a change or for a better life and use that as fuel to propel you forward.
Like it or not, our wants and desires are the primary drivers of our decision making process.
It’s time to channel those wants, needs, and desires into daily success. Use your motivation for happiness and success to make enormous progress today.
Practice: Develop a one-page document outlining your most important goals. Remember why you wake up every day and do what you do.
Discover: How to Live a Life with No Regrets in 15 Steps
4) There Is No Such Thing as an Overnight Success
“There are few overnight successes and many up-all-night successes.” — Kevin Ashton
The overnight success is a myth. People get lucky all the time, but most find success through years of toiling.
Even of those who find overnight success, or suddenly win the lottery, we know it doesn’t often work out well.
Lottery winners spend the money too fast (70% lose it within two years) and enter the depths of depression.
Would you rather be a sudden and miserable lottery winner? Or someone who takes it one day at a time, and, through relentless action, will eventually crush their goals?
I pick the latter every day. It’s the much better place to be.
Build your foundation on the concrete slab of everyday growth to find success.
Practice: Make sure you have a small win every single day. Make a small win checklist if needed, print it out, and track your progress.
Discover: Want to Become an Overnight Success? You’ve Got Years of Work Ahead of You
5) Exponential Growth is Easier
“If we don’t change, we don’t grow. If we don’t grow, we aren’t really living.” —Gail Sheehy
Expanding on number 4, growth every day is an easier goal than trying to accomplish a huge goal in a short amount of time. Getting better day after day is more achievable and less stressful.
Any goal worth reaching for can’t be accomplished in a day. If your goal is losing weight, getting your pilot’s license, or hiking the Appalachian Trail, you can’t make significant progress in one day.
But neither can you complete the goal without one day of progress.
Just a slight amount of progress every day leads to major life change in the long run.
So, every day counts in the grand scheme of things, but won’t tip the hat either way. This can be great as it gives us the freedom to mess up every once in a while, but tough when we have more bad days than good.
Practice: Keep the daily wins up and mess ups and losses low. Make steady progress over time and you’ll be well on your way to reaching any goal you can imagine.
Discover: How to Balance It All and Make Progress Every Single Day
6) It Will Never be Tomorrow Right Now
“Do you want to know who you are? Don’t ask. Act! Action will delineate and define you.” ―Thomas Jefferson
“I’ll do that tomorrow.”
I’ve said it. I’m sure you have to.
Tomorrow comes around, but now it’s today. Tomorrow doesn’t actually exist… It will never be tomorrow.
You need today.
Today is the only time you can work on goals, make progress, and make the most out of your life.
It bears repeating. I see SO many people talking about dreams, wishing for change, and then doing nothing about it today.
The best laid plans are worthless if you don’t take action.
Today counts.
Today matters.
Each day is your stepping stone to future success. You HAVE to make progress today if you want to reap the benefits tomorrow.
Make today count by taking a slight step forward, even if it seems like it won’t make a difference in the long run.
The myth of progress is valuing tomorrow’s gold over today’s sweat.
Practice: Sweat today, see gold tomorrow. Work on something meaningful to you for at least 30 minutes.
Discover: Beyond Time Management: Why We Really Procrastinate and How to Finally Stop
7) You’ll Unlock Uncanny Momentum and it Will Be Hard to Stop Reaching Goals
“Almost any decision is better than no decision — just keep moving.” – Danielle LaPorte
Daily wins lead to momentum. Seizing the day will help you build a momentum stack that will make you unstoppable.
Once we get used to doing something, it becomes easier and easier to do, and harder to stop.
Habits are the lifeblood of consistent progress.
Make seizing the day a habit and you’ll get the most out of life. Life is short, but it won’t seem that way as you build in positive habits into your life.
Daily wins —> Removal of bad choices —> Momentum —> Big wins —> More momentum —> Clarity of purpose —> “Overnight” success
I’m a huge believer in the power of momentum. If we can get momentum towards a goal in life we can start crushing it. Momentum gives us the chance to become a better version of ourselves.
The best part? Momentum is free for all. You don’t have to be that great at anything to acquire it.
Just look at me. My greatest asset is my relentlessness. It’s not flashy or super hero like, but it’s helped me get to where I am today.
Practice: Pick one chief goal to focus on for the next 90 days. Set weekly tasks you can accomplish and get to work. Build momentum by checking one thing off after another.
8) Life is Short, but Opportunity Will Knock
“The big question is whether you are going to be able to say a hearty yes to your adventure.” -Joseph Campbell
Ask and you will find.
Put yourself out there and the world will answer back. It’s impossible to quantify this phenomenon, but it’s happened to me, to others, and will come true for you too.
Seek and you will find.
The key is being open to new possibilities. Opening up your world to novel ideas, adventures, and possibilities.
It’s scary, but it’s a necessary step in living a life of no regrets, in living a life you can be proud of.
Practice: Try one of the following actions to put yourself out there:
- Do something you’ve never done before.
- Ask a close friend what they think you should do with your life. You might get some surprising answers!
- Build resilience to rejection by asking for things you wouldn’t normally ask for. Ask for a discount on your coffee, have a Zoom call with a friend to give you insight on your latest project, ask a stranger’s opinion on your latest idea.
- Post a vulnerable question on social media and respond to all answers.
Discover: 11 Surprising Ways to Put Yourself Out There That You Haven’t Thought of Before
9) You’ll Strike a Better Balance Between Untapped Potential and Being Content in the Moment
“One way to keep momentum going is to have constantly greater goals.” —Michael Korda
“When you do things from your soul, you feel a river moving in you, a joy.” ―Rumi
Ah, the potential of untapped goal fulfillment vs. being content in the moment.
This is one of the fiercest battles I wage every single day. There’s so much I want to do, so many GOOD choices before me, so much potential I could reach every day.
Yet, being content in the moment is so important too, because without it, we will never be complete.
This one is tough, but seizing every day helps to conquer the FOMO of missing out on your potential.
Make progress each day, but also make time for laughter, quiet moments at the dinner table, and cuddles with loved ones at night.
Life is not a series of boxes to check off. Neither is it meant to be all fun and games. Strike a better balance here.
Practice: Make a list of five areas of your life that have a need for better balance. And then seize the day by making a powerful move to right the ship. Not tomorrow. But NOW.
10) You’ll Live Life With No Regrets
“At the end of the day, let there be no excuses, no explanations, no regrets.” –Steve Maraboli
I’ve been living a life of no regrets since age 25 and I will NEVER go back.
Don’t wait until it’s too late to make a change.
If weeks are going by and you are still stuck in the same old rut, STOP, make a change, and start accomplishing your most important goals.
Life gets busy, but there is no excuse for not taking yourself seriously.
Do you want to pave the way towards a better life for yourself or not?
Do you believe you can make a difference?
I probably don’t even know you, but I guarantee you you can start living with no regrets today. Make today the line in the sand between the old you and the new and improved version.
Stop living life with regrets. Start taking advantage of every day.
Practice: Mastering priorities are key for living a life of no regrets. Prioritize your tasks, projects, and core values into a solid 1-10 list you can refer back to. This way, you’ll know what to say “not right now” to.
There are goals I want to accomplish someday, like writing a fiction novel. These goals are my “not right now” goals. This means that if I live my entire life without ever completing them, THAT”S OKAY. This makes it possible for you to focus on the wildly important and make progress on the goals in your “YES RIGHT NOW” list and get those done.
Discover: Master Your Priorities in Life And Create Time by Saying No
There you have it, ten reasons why you should seize the day because life is short.
Now over to you…
What are you going to do today to make progress on your most important goals?
Let me know in the comments below or email me at Jordan@jmring.com. I’d absolutely love to hear from you.
Wishing you much success, TODAY!
-Jordan
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