Assuming you live to 85, you will have lived for about 31,000 days and 745,000 hours.
Maybe that sounds like a lot to you. But stop to consider that a third of that will be in bed. That leaves you with 500,000 active hours.
That’s really all you’re ever gifted with from the time you’re born. These 500,000 hours are fundamentally irreplaceable. If you spend some of them on health and well-being, you might be able to earn a few more, but you’ll never get back the ones you’ve spent.
We can work harder or longer to earn more money. We can go to the supermarket to get more groceries. We can buy the latest and greatest gadgets. But, no matter how hard we try, we’re stuck with an ever-diminishing amount of time.
We’re all gamblers, standing at the roulette table of life. The one rule is that we have to place one of our chips every hour and, once a chip is placed, we will never get it back.
How we place these 500,000 chips will be the single biggest determining factor of our outcomes: our success, happines, safety, intellectual development, and mental well-being. These 500,000 chips are all we fundamentally have, and everything that extrinsically seems to matter - our status, ego, legacy, and material wealth are just a consequence of these 500,000 chips.
Once the game is over, we don’t get to keep any of that stuff anyway. Think about all those hours already spent: glued to screens, stuck in traffic, working at jobs that drain you, worrying about things that, in the grand scheme of things, won’t matter. Those chips are gone. Already cashed in. There is no earning more.
Time’s True Value
Here’s the thing: time isn’t just money, it’s so much more valuable. You can always try to make more money but you can never get back the hours you’ve spent in your lifetime.
In fact, you need time in order to earn money, so it’s more valuable! And while it sounds obvious, many of us live like we have an infinite supply. Like we’re the house at the casino, not the gamblers.
The fact is that the value of time is determined by what you put into it.
Irreplaceable Resource
Let’s hammer this home: those 500,000 (or fewer!) hours are non-refundable, non-transferable, and absolutely finite. There are no rainchecks, no do-overs.
This isn’t some points-based rewards system. Once an hour is gone, it’s gone. Like, poof… gone! This should be terrifying, and also incredibly motivating.
Shapes Our Lives
How you choose to spend your time is essentially how you’re writing the story of your life. Are you scribbling a grocery list on a napkin or crafting a beautiful, inspiring novel?
Okay, maybe most of us are scribbling grocery lists, but you get the point! Every decision, every activity, contributes to your personal growth, the strength of your relationships, and your overall sense of well-being.
Time = Growth and Progress
Think of time as the fertile soil in which your dreams can take root and flourish.
- Learning, Adapting, Evolving: Each hour spent learning a new skill, reading a book, or exploring a new idea is an investment in your future self. You’re essentially upgrading your operating system, making yourself more capable and adaptable.
- Setting Goals, Making Plans, Achieving Dreams: Remember that to-do list? The one you’re always putting off? Setting goals, making plans, and breaking them down into manageable steps allows you to convert those hours into tangible achievements. It’s like turning lead into gold… with a bit of effort, of course.
- Consistent Effort Compounds Over Time: Throughout this site, we’ve emphasized the power of compounding. This is the magic of time. Consistent, even small, efforts, compound over months and years. Start a savings account and invest $100 dollars per week. Boom. Years later, you’re rich. Dedicate one hour per week to learning a new language, and in a year, you’ll probably be fluent! Don’t underestimate the power of incremental progress.
Time = Well-being
Time isn’t just about productivity and achievement; it’s equally important for your mental and emotional health.
- Self-Care, Mental, and Emotional Health: Taking time for yourself isn’t selfish; it’s essential. Practicing mindfulness, meditation, going for a walk in nature, taking a bath, reading a book, getting a massage – these are all investments that pay dividends in increased resilience, reduced stress, and improved overall happiness.
- Rest and Rejuvenation Prevent Burnout: Think of your body and mind like a battery. If you’re constantly running on empty, you’re going to crash and burn. Prioritizing rest, getting enough sleep, and taking regular breaks are crucial for maintaining your energy levels and preventing burnout. Remember that we’ve already reserved a third of our 745,000 chips for sleep. Trying to move some between piles won’t work!
Time = Relationships
Time is the glue that binds us to the people we care about.
- Shared Experiences, Heartfelt Conversations, Cherished Memories: It’s the shared moments, the deep conversations, and the laughter that creates lasting bonds. These memories are priceless. You are creating a time capsule of your life.
- Prioritizing Time Shows Importance and Value: When you make time for someone, you’re sending a powerful message: “You matter to me.” A phone call, a handwritten letter, a coffee date – these small gestures can make a big difference. You are essentially saying “I care about you.”
Mindfulness and Presence
In our hyper-connected, always-on world, it’s easy to get caught up in the whirlwind of activity and lose sight of the present moment.
- Find a Balance Between Efficiency and Mindfulness: It’s about striking a balance between being productive and being present. You don’t have to be a zen master, but try to cultivate a sense of awareness in your daily life.
- Savor Life’s Simple Pleasures and Cultivate Gratitude: Pay attention to the small things – the taste of your coffee, the warmth of the sun on your skin, the sound of laughter. These simple pleasures can bring joy and contentment to your life. So many people take those things for granted.
- Remember to Say “Thank you.” Show your gratitude for your life and the people you care about!
Empower yourself to live intentionally, make purposeful choices, and create a life that aligns with your values. Don’t just drift through life on autopilot.
Take the time to reflect on what truly matters to you, set clear goals, and make conscious choices that align with your values. It’s your life. Take control and live by your own rules. Don’t live your life for someone else.
The Procrastination Pitfall
Defining Procrastination in “Chip” Terms
Procrastination is essentially betting your chips on not doing what’s important right now. It’s like saying, “Nah, I don’t really need to study for that exam. I’ll just… watch cat videos instead.” (We’ve all done it!).
You are essentially hoping for a better outcome later, but the truth is, you’re just delaying the inevitable and often making it worse. The problem doesn’t magically disappear. In fact, you’ll only spend even more chips later, because that thing you were avoiding will only become worse.
Common Procrastination Traps
- Social Media Rabbit Holes (Endless Scrolling): “Just five more minutes on Instagram…” Famous last words. Before you know it, you’ve spent three hours comparing your life to heavily filtered images of strangers. Those chips are gone, replaced by… well, probably a vague sense of inadequacy and a craving for avocado toast.
- Petty Gossip: The internet is a breeding ground for this. The water cooler has moved online. Wasting time engaging in this is toxic because you’ll be spending your precious life judging someone else instead of focusing on yourself.
- Worrying About Pleasing People: We all want to be liked. But trying to please everyone is a fast track to nowhere. Trying to manage everyone’s expectations will inevitably lead to frustration.
- Trivial Issues: Getting worked up over something that won’t matter in a week, a month, or a year? That’s essentially throwing your chips into a garbage can. It is a zero-sum game.
- Worthless Arguments: “I’m right, and you’re wrong!” How many hours have you spent arguing with someone on the internet, trying to prove a point that ultimately changes nothing? Newsflash: most people aren’t going to change their minds anyway. Stop wasting your chips.
- Consider Entertainment (in Moderation): Now, before you swear off all forms of entertainment, let’s add a caveat. Time spent consuming entertainment can be valuable, when done in moderation. It can definitely help to determine your taste, open your mind to profound ideas, inspire you, or just bring general laughter (which is good for the soul). The key is intentionality. Binge-watching an entire series because you’re avoiding your responsibilities? Not great. Watching a thought-provoking documentary or a hilarious comedy with friends? Totally fine.
The Cost of Delay
Procrastination isn’t just about wasted time; it’s a stress multiplier! Procrastination doesn’t just waste time; it creates stress, anxiety, and missed opportunities.
- Stress and Anxiety: That nagging feeling that you should be doing something important? That’s the procrastination anxiety kicking in. The longer you delay, the bigger the stress ball gets.
- Missed Opportunities: Procrastination can cost you opportunities you’ll never get back. A delayed project, a missed deadline, a lost connection. You might never even realize what you missed out on.
- Wasted potential. Life is too short to not reach your full potential.
- The Million-Dollar Question: So, here’s the big one. Be honest with yourself: Would you really spend hours mindlessly scrolling through social media timelines looking at strangers’ selfies, engaging in petty gossip, and drifting unconsciously down YouTube rabbit holes if you truly understood the value of each of your 500,000 chips? Probably not, right?
The Future Self: Investing in the Long Game
Sacrifice as Investment
Sometimes, the smartest bet is to ‘sacrifice’ some chips today for a bigger payout tomorrow. This is about investing in your future self.
This is the only way to get more chips. You might put down a chip and get handed back the same chip with a fraction of another.
Think of it as planting a tree. It takes time and effort, but eventually, you’ll have shade, fruit, and a beautiful place to relax. These investments will compound as the years pass by.
“Sacrifice” can be a loaded word. It sounds like deprivation and suffering. But think of it as a strategic reallocation of resources. You’re not losing chips; you’re investing them in something that will yield a greater return down the line. You are essentially saying, “I choose to bet on myself!”
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Examples of “Good” Sacrifices (Chip-Smart Moves):
- Studying Instead of Partying: Yeah, the party sounds fun right now. But a solid education or valuable job skill can set you up for a lifetime of success and fulfillment. The sacrifice will be made at some point. The choice to enjoy one night now or many nights later is yours.
- Exercising Instead of Watching TV: Binge-watching Netflix might feel good in the moment, but your body will thank you for choosing to move. Investing in your physical health will pay off in increased energy, reduced stress, and a longer, healthier life.
- Working on a Side Hustle Instead of Relaxing: Building a side hustle, pursuing a passion project, starting a business – these are all ways to create more options and security for your future. It is your chance to create your own game.
- Taking a Weekend Course Instead of Hanging Out: Learning a new skill, deepening your knowledge, connecting with like-minded people – these are investments in your intellectual and personal growth. You might give up one weekend, but you’ll be better-equipped for the future.
Delayed Gratification: The Secret Sauce
What all these “good” sacrifices have in common is delayed gratification. It’s not about depriving yourself of joy; it’s about delaying gratification strategically. Think of it as compound interest for your life. Think about where you want to be 10 years from now and then set some small achievable goals.
Think about all the hours that someone invests to become a doctor. That person doesn’t have any more willpower to delay gratification and make sacrifices than you do. They made it a habit to dedicate their time. It’s like the marshmallow test, but with your life. If you can resist the immediate temptation and hold out for the bigger reward, you’ll be amazed at what you can achieve.
The key is to find a balance. Don’t become a workaholic or a health nut obsessed with optimization. Remember that our 500,000 chips are limited. Invest wisely, but don’t forget to enjoy the journey! The name of the game is not to become rich, but to be happy and satisfied with your life. If you do that, then congratulations - you’ve won the chip lottery!
Embracing the Sand Timer Mentality
What if we had a daily reminder that our time is, in fact, limited? What if we could see our time slipping?
That’s where the “sand timer mentality” comes in. It’s about consciously acknowledging the finite nature of our existence and making choices accordingly. It may sound morbid, but it’s actually incredibly empowering.
The Deathbed Perspective: Lessons Learned Too Late?
Ever heard of Bronnie Ware? She was a palliative care nurse who spent years caring for people in the last weeks of their lives. One of her most popular articles was “Regrets of the Dying.” Here are some of the regrets she reported:
I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.
I wish I hadn’t worked so hard.
I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings.
I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.
I wish that I had let myself be happier.
Ware noticed a recurring theme: “People on their deathbeds were able to achieve a remarkable level of retrospective clarity and pinpoint what they should and shouldn’t have done in their lives. They could accurately tell you what didn’t matter and what should have mattered more.”
They could see clearly where they had squandered their time chips and where they should have invested them more wisely. The takeaway? Don’t wait until your deathbed to figure out what’s important! Learn from these regrets and start living more intentionally now.
The Stoic Philosophers and Steve Jobs: Ancient Wisdom for Modern Times
The idea of living with a sense of mortality is nothing new. Ancient Stoic philosophers like Marcus Aurelius and Seneca emphasized the importance of embracing impermanence. Seneca famously wrote, “It is not that we have a short space of time, but that we waste so much of it.” They would always focus on the now.
Steve Jobs, the visionary co-founder of Apple, had a near-death experience with cancer that profoundly changed his perspective. He gave a commencement speech at Stanford University saying:
Remembering I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. [Death] clears out the old to make way for the new.”
By embracing the sand timer mentality, by acknowledging that our time is limited, we can live more intentionally, more purposefully, and more fully. We can stop squandering our chips on trivialities and start investing them in what truly matters.
Conclusion: Time to Play Your Hand
So, there you have it. We’ve journeyed from the sobering realization that you’re allotted 500,000 precious hours in your lifetime, to identifying the insidious procrastination pitfalls, to understanding the power of investing in your future self. We’ve even peeked into the wisdom of those nearing the end of their game, reminding us to prioritize what truly matters.
We have confronted the idea that we are gamblers at the roulette table of life, and everything we will get will be determined by how we bet. Hopefully, you have realized that the only goal to the game is to have not regret the process.
Now, it’s your turn.
Remember, you only get this one life. The clock is ticking. The chips are dwindling (or hopefully, starting to grow!). Don’t wait until it’s too late to start playing your hand wisely. You’re not at the mercy of time. You are in control.
And if you’re looking for ways to add more quality time to your life, to actually earn back some of those precious chips, be sure to check out our other articles on nutrition and fitness. After all, a healthier you has a better chance of reaching that 85-year mark and enjoying those 500,000 hours (and maybe even a few extra!).
So, start today. Make one small change. Re-evaluate how you’re spending your time. Place your bets wisely. The casino doors are open; go and live a happy, fulfilling, and well-spent life! Now, go and make some memories and live by your rules!