Don't Let Your Life Pass You By

As a kid growing up you probably heard your parents talk about how fast life flies. You may have heard them refer to themselves as getting old once them past 30. Once you got to high school, your parents used to tell you that those were the best years of your life because it was all work and responsibility from there. This is the main reason many people go to college after high school, because it is an extension of those best years of our lives. This article will look at how understanding the principles of Psychology and committing to personal growth and self-development will help you to slow it down a bit so you won’t age so fast.

Is life really all “work and responsibility”?

We are indoctrinated by society to put off working full-time until after college. This is because once we start working full-time, it is pretty much continuous for the next 40 years until this imaginary thing called “retirement”. The funny, and sad, thing about retirement is that we may never get there. First off, if we plan to collect Social Security as early as possible (age 62), there is always the possibility that we may die at 61; or worse, we may die a week before our 62 birthday after putting in for our retirement fund.

Another possibility is that Social Security may not be there when we retire. Where does this leave us? We basically have to find some type of work that we can do the rest of our lives and make good investments so we have something to live off of. The harsh reality is that nothing is set in stone and there is no such thing as job security. This is the first step we usually have to make before we make a choice to pursue the path of personal growth.

Also, the mentality that life is all work and responsibility is nothing short of the biggest lie. While it is true there is no such thing as work-life balance, you always want to prioritize some time for leisure, if for no other reason than to de-stress. Even the President of the United States plays golf quite frequently and even more than that during times of crisis, generally against the interests of the public who have no idea that being the leader of the free world is not the easiest job in the world.  Just look at how fast their hair turns white after just one term (Ronald Regan obviously used Just for Men or some type of hair dye.

How to get out of the rat race

As long as there has been work, there has always been politics. That is part of the curse that work is. But work is also a source of blessing as it keeps us occupied and pays for our livelihood. We will always have the pressure of the rat race. So the question is how do we slow life down in order to enjoy it more so we do not come to the end of our lives full of regrets?

The key is to live mindfully. This means taking life one day at a time without getting too caught up in our long term goals. We should still have goals because that is what keeps us moving. We have purpose in life and we have to set goals to accomplish it. There is nothing wrong with wanting to learn a skill to gain a higher paying job, but we should enjoy where we are at because this reduces anxiety. If we really enjoy where we are at, then there is nothing wrong with that job. There is no such thing as being underemployed.

Even if a job has no benefits, the greatest benefit a job has to offer is the paycheck and everything it can buy. It is just up to us to manage our money so that we can live within our means and stretch a few bucks so we are not living paycheck to paycheck.  Also, there is no such thing as a dead end job. Every job has a boss or management team. If you stay at the same job long enough, you will have the opportunity for raises and promotions. There are also career possibilities that will call for whatever experience you can gain from your present job, and even more if you have a college education to back it up. This just looks good on your resume.

The key to living mindfully is to make every day count. Even Jesus said in the New Testament to take care of life’s troubles today.  Tomorrow will always take care of itself because it will soon be the new today. Time may seem faster but you will enjoy life more by focusing on each day. You will enjoy the journey by not getting too caught up in the destination, because it is not guaranteed that you will ever get there anyway. 

Life was meant to be enjoyed. There are many opportunities out there for work that will always be there. Even if you have to work the rest of your life. There are jobs for seniors. You may even have enough experience in one field that you can work as a consultant or a freelancer during your golden years. It takes a strong commitment to self-development and personal growth but once you accomplish this, life slows down and has more meaning. You literally start to find fulfillment in the little things and realize that work will always be there; you just have to balance it out so you do not get too focused on making stuff happen that will inevitably happen anyway if you just sit back and do what needs to be done today to the best of your ability.