Inspiration — Self-Reflection
I’m Excited To Start Living the Life I Always Wanted
Because there’s no better time to start living than today
I’ve always dreamed of going to Florida and watching my favorite baseball team, the Pittsburgh Pirates, play spring training games there. It’s near the top of my bucket list.
I’ve never been to Florida, and the idea of going there after the long, cold, and snowy winter months in PA seems like it would be refreshing to bask in the warm sun and enjoy Pirates baseball.
Each new baseball season brings me renewed excitement and hope for my Pirates, but regrettably, at almost 42 years old, I’ve never made the trip.
I’ve made up every excuse I could think of to prevent that dream from happening. A mixture of my lifelong fear of flying and fiscally responsible money management, or my wife would say my cheapness, kept me locked in the perpetual state of “I’ll do it later.”
The truth is:
“Procrastination is like masturbation, in the beginning it feels good, but in the end, you’re just fucking yourself!”
― Michael Mccarthy
Isn’t that how everyone thinks about time, especially the younger we are?
We think time is infinite, and therefore, we take it for granted. We kick the can down the road and skip out on things that bring us happiness, only realizing the value of time when it’s too late.
The sobering realization is that no one knows when their time will expire, so I finally decided that I don’t want to be 80 years old and have regrets.
One of the stoic pillars I meditate on is “Memento Mori,” meaning “Remember you must die.”
It’s not intended to be a buzzkill but rather to serve as a daily reminder to live each day fully, understanding your mortality.
I have a weird daily habit of reading obituaries from the local newspaper.
Part of why is to keep the “Memento Mori” idea at the forefront of my mind. I also check to see if anyone I know has died, and I like to observe how long people live versus others.
It’s chilling to see so many people under the age of 70 die.
Did they think they had more time? Did they die with regrets?
My dad is 71, and he doesn’t appear close to death at all, but no one knows.
The stoic philosopher Seneca summed up this concept of “Memento Mori” when he said:
“Let us prepare our minds as if we’d come to the very end of life. Let us postpone nothing. Let us balance life’s books each day. … The one who puts the finishing touches on their life each day is never short of time.” Seneca
At the start of 2024, I took Seneca’s quote to heart. I took the time to pause and reflect on some challenges I faced in 2023, took an inventory of my current life, and visualized what I wanted my 2024 to look like.
After this exercise, I made the following intentions for my life in 2024 and beyond:
I was going to start doing the things I always wanted to do.
No more procrastination. No more excuses. No more bullshit.
Decide. Plan. Execute.
Leave no room for regret.
I accomplished my first promise for my new life when I fulfilled that lifelong dream of seeing my Pirates play spring training games in Florida.
As much as flying hijacks my anxiety and takes it on a turbulent ride, I put those scary what-if thoughts aside and booked the flight to Sarasota with my wife.
I told myself that it’s okay to be afraid.
Impermanence is my friend, so embrace it.
What I’m so excited about is that this is not only a redemption trip for me from the time I let my anxiety win and humiliated my wife in the process; it’s the beginning of the new life I’ve always wanted.
Don’t worry about my wife; she will get plenty of beach time and shopping time, so she won’t be stuck watching baseball games all week.
We are about four weeks away from our trip, and having the trip to look forward to has brought a neat, consistent happiness to our lives.
We’ve been in “beach body” mode, which has been a great motivator for our health.
Is there anything you’ve been putting off for a long time that you want to do but allow the excuses to win?
It may be time to pause, reflect, and act because “Memento Mori,” there’s no better time to start living than today.
This article was in response to Liberty Forrest, Author prompt on “The Importance of Going Inward to Pause and Reflect”.
Check out this inspiring piece by Daniel Ng on his self-reflection routine.
