Two Ends of a Spectrum
At regular points in my life, I would come across a perspective that resonates with me on a level that sends electricity through my bones. After that very moment, I can no longer see the world the way I used to.
We have divided people into two different groups; those who live every day like their last, and those who live every day with the belief that they can find time to do what they want later. I have never been able to identify with neither group.
If you told me this was my last day on Earth, twenty-four hours is too short for everything I would like to do. On the contrary, if you told me I had 50 years left to live, I would spend most of that time trying to figure out what to do.
It’s a paradox no one has been able to get right because there is no right answer. This depends heavily on the individual perspective itself. What is important to me is unique to me and what I choose to do with my time on this planet is ultimately my decision.
One Year at a Time
I did not create this concept, nor do I take ownership of its originality. I am sure there are hundreds of people out there who do the same. Instead of living as if I have one day or ten years left, I live life as if the one year ahead of this current day is all that I have left to live.
The benefit of this is, I do not have to stress myself out trying to choose only one thing that matters. However, I do not have to surrender to the pressures of society. I will not have to do what people believe I should now, and only do what I want much later.
One year is a long enough time frame for me to accomplish a large number of things I want to be done. It leaves me enough room to do what I believe is needed for my future. However, it also provides space I can fill with things I enjoy, such as travel and adventure.
The Warren Buffet 5/25 Rule
If you’re interested in self-development, you would have come across this at some point. The idea behind it is simple.
- Make a list of 25 things you want to accomplish in the foreseeable future.
- Rank them in order of importance.
- Avoid at all costs number 6–25.
- Focus all of your energy and effort into numbers 1–5.
- Once you have completed one from 1–5, move on to the next on the list.
According to Parkinson’s Law, work expands to fill the time available for its completion.
When you focus on completing only those five things within a year, you have a higher chance of actually completing them. This is because, in your mind, you only have one year to do so. However, when you live as if you have ten years left, it will take you all of those ten years to complete those five things that you want to do.
Summary
Choose the five most important things that you want to achieve, and give yourself 12 months to complete them. The longer time you allow yourself to achieve a goal, the longer it will take you to do exactly that.
Good luck.
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Previously published on “Change Becomes You”, a Medium publication.
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Photo credit: Doran Erickson on Unsplash