We hear people say life is not a race. You don’t have to worry about not being successful at your age. But I say that’s an excuse to be complacent. Time is ticking, and you have to pursue your dreams now.

image showing text "Time is Ticking: Pursue Your Dreams Now" with different types of clocks around it

Time is ticking…

As I write this, the seconds go by, never to come back. Time, unlike money, is finite, a resource we can’t have more of. Start asking yourself, was the time I spent on this activity buying me more stocks to reach my dreams? Or was it invested in an obvious loss?

Here is an interesting chart that shows your life in weeks, and how much you have left, assuming you live up to 90.

Sample chart showing that time is ticking from Kathleen Wonders
I’m almost up to a 3rd of my life (assuming I live up to 90)

The results can be quite eye-opening, especially when you realize that this is based on the precarious assumption that we will live until we’re 90. Chances are, we may not. We don’t really know how long we have left to live.

Which brings us to this frustrating fact: you don’t have forever to do what you want. Be fearful, just a little. Be fearful of regret and not taking the opportunity, because it might not come knocking again. You are aging. And that’s not always a bad thing. But with age comes a set of different choices and priorities that might close doors to things you want.

Pursue your dreams

Now that we know time is ticking, we have to start pursuing our dreams. We have to know what we want and work hard to reach it. We can’t sit through our corporate job while waiting for a breakthrough to come while answering emails. Maybe sometimes it does for some lucky people. But 99% of the time, it doesn’t. You have to make it happen.

Time is ticking behind lounging lady graphic
You can lounge all you want but time is still running in the background

How? I know it is harder said than done. I myself didn’t know what I wanted when I wrote this 2 years ago. If you don’t know what it is you want, you might know what it is you don’t like. Ask yourself:

  • Are you happy in your job and current career?
  • Do you see yourself working there long-term?
  • What goals do you hope to achieve in that career?
  • Does it help you become the person you want to be?

As you begin to answer these questions, you might realize a few things. Dig deeper.

  • Am I doing what makes me happy?
  • If not, what are the things that make me smile and lose track of time?
  • I am good at…
  • Who do you envision yourself to be?

It would be helpful to answer these questions alone. Also, be conscious of any inner judgment. Simply write what comes to mind and let go of any criticism or questions that may arise. Sometimes, we subconsciously know what it is that we really want to do with our lives. However, we bury it deep under our insecurities, doubts, and fears.

Once you figure out what it is you want to do and who you want to be, start taking concrete steps even in the smallest daily decisions (like taking 30 minutes from binge-watching shows to answer these questions). Set a plan on how you can be closer to this dream of yours. Accomplish that plan, one step at a time.

Ta-da weekly checklist thumbnail kathleen wonders
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Choose to live fully

This is not to say that you should just drop everything and work like a robot without rest towards your goals. Rather, it is making the choice to do things not on autopilot mode, but with a goal and purpose in mind. Since time is finite, don’t just squander it on pointless activities (it’s up to you what you consider pointless). Here’s a personal example: mindless scrolling on the web and wondering where all my time went.

What you want to do instead is to invest your time in the things that matter to you, things that’ll help you reach your dreams and who you want to be. This of course varies from person to person, so you have to be be aware of what those are to you. For example, if family, health, and passion mattered the most to me, then I would ensure the majority of my time would be spent on those 3 things and the betterment of each.

girl drinking coffee with clocks ticking around her
Know how to differentiate between what is essential and a mere distraction

Once you become more aware of these things, you start living more fully. Days don’t fly by with you feeling unfulfilled or restless. Because you know where your time is going, because you are consciously making decisions towards your goals, you know life is worth living. It is not some empty shell to be filled with activities to have some semblance of life, nor some competition in the amassing of material things to keep up appearances. It is simply your own and what you make of it.

Act now

So start living fully and pursue your dreams. Taking the first step is the hardest part—in my opinion. This is because it’s so easy to procrastinate, so easy to daydream and think, I’ll do it when I’m free, or after this project is done, or tomorrow. But again, time is ticking. What you started yesterday could be what brings you happiness and success tomorrow. So why are you putting it off?

Related:
Steps To Take For Better Work-Life Balance
Inspiring Videos To Take Action On Your Goals This Year

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