Life is short. We’ve all heard that saying, but as one who just came back from my aunt’s funeral back home, it’s not that short.
It may appear that time is flying by at an unprecedented pace (some days are like that) but according to Statistics Canada, life expectancy for a typical Canadian is 81 years old. That equates to almost 30,000 days on earth. You have roughly 30,000 days to live your life. Some days are going to suck while some days are absolutely joyous occasions that you never want to end.
My aunt was married for 59 years to my uncle. She was 83 when she died. I guess she wasn’t your typical Canadian 
Try this exercise. Take 81 and minus your current age.
So, if you’re 40, then you come up with 41. Multiple this number by 365. The result: 14, 965 — that’s how many days you have left on average to enjoy your life.
If you’re 25, then you come up with 56. Multiple this number by 365. You, my lucky young friend, have 20, 440 days left to live your life.
What if you’re 65? 81 – 65 = 16. 16 * 365 days = 5840. That’s still almost 6000 days to do what you want with the amount of time left in your life. Of course there is no guarantee. You may live to be 100!
You know how they talk about having a mid-life crisis? 40 years is the usual age, but can vary by plus or minus 4 years depending on the individual.
41 years to go. You can go back to school, have a marriage lasting 40 years, raise your children, have your life mean something so that on your deathbed people remember how much you touched their lives.
You may feel like you don’t have a lot of time left, but you do. Yes, life can go by alarmingly fast, but it’s not that short. You still have plenty of time to live your life. Make mistakes. Be rejected. Take chances. Don’t live the rest of your days with regrets.
You can still have a 20 or 30 year marriage.
You can still have a purpose-driven life.
You can still have and raise children.
You can still do everything on your bucket list.
You can still travel around the world.
You can still have life-long friends.
You can still create your own business.
You can still write your life’s story.
Of course, the older we get the faster the years seem to go by, but it’s important to live your life, no matter your age. The past is gone and can never be re-lived. Let it go and live for today. No matter how much time you have left.
Need more inspiration? Read my article on Why It’s Never Too Late For Your Dreams To Come True.
Because, it’s not over until it’s really over.
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{ 32 comments… read them below or add one }
Beautifully said, Karen. Every day brings us new ground to plow and to plant. Sometimes we think what we do each day doesn’t matter much, but one day builds on the next and just a little daily effort can yield powerful results when added to other days’ efforts.
Jean Sarauer´s last blog ..Confessions of a Backsliding Blogger
You’re so right, Jean. The little daily effort can being tremendous results as you build upon each one day by day. It’s important to be conscious of our daily actions as these habits actually build our lives.
Karen: You are right that it is not over until it is really over. I am now in my middle years and will be sending my youngest son off to college this year. In my life, I have already worked in a museum, taught in a classroom, gotten my PhD, worked as a museum consultant, taught at a college, worked as a HR consultant, written a woman’s healthy nutrition and exercise book, and now administering my own website. Lots done but even more to accomplish, By using all of my past experiences, I have a greater perspective of what I still want to accomplish and what will be fun to pursue. Traveling, seeing how other cultures live, and helping others however I can, is all part of the plan. The key is to keep looking forward rather than viewing life through a rear view mirror. Great post, Karen, as always. Thanks.
Ann´s last blog ..Ways to Manage Stress -Calming a Stressful Lifestyle
Wow, you’ve certainly done a lot in your life so far, Ann! As you say, “lots done, but even more to accomplish”. I think with age comes courage and perspective, not to mention the keen appreciation of how much time we do have left to live our lives. More power to you for figuring out exactly what you want and then making sure that you are looking forward, not backwards.
Karen, A wonderful reminder to use the time remaining to really live. And that’s so important whether, statistically, you have a good chance of living 40 more years or only 10. Even at my age, I can still do everything on your list, except have and raise children. (Done that, been there).
I think that growing old (or even the thought of it) can be depressing for so many people because they think that the best is behind them, and there’s nothing to look forward to. If only those people could read your post. Great job!
Madeleine Kolb´s last blog ..3 Unmistakable Signs That You’re Turning into a Little Old Lady
Welcome Madeleine,
Thanks for your comment.
I know what you mean about getting older and being depressed about it. Sometimes, it can be depressing to think that the best times of your life are already behind you, but then it you just switch your focus to the future, the possibilities are endless. There are endless paths to take in life from this day forward and sure some won’t work out, but just think of the ones that will! Every day that we have is a gift as none of us know when it will be our last day.
Karen
Karen,
This is a great reality check. I often hear people tell me that they feel “too old” to start this, or do that because by the time they finish they’ll be XX years old – and first response is, “But if you don’t do it you’re still going be XX years old even if you don’t do it!”
Lately, I’ve started asking myself every morning if this were my last day on earth would I want to be doing whatever it is I’m doing? If the answer is no – I’m finding a way to eliminate it from my life.
Thanks for the great reminder!
Angela Artemis´s last blog ..Is There a Difference Between Intuition, Psychism and Mediumship?
Hi Angela,
The time will pass anyways, so you might as well go and do what you want now. I’ve used this truism on myself as motivation to not let my age stop me from doing something that I really wanted to do.
Great advice
Thanks,
Karen
Very nice Karen. Many people unfortunately think that they are too old to start doing something that they like and end up doing nothing and not living their life the way they want to. As you said, we could live a hundred years and even more, so we enjoy our life and live out our dreams. Thanks for sharing Karen
Dia´s last blog ..5 Ways to stay energetic throughout the day
Hi Dia,
I think we all know people like that. They say they want to do something and they’re still talking about it years later. If only they had taken action….
I’m glad that you enjoyed the article.
Thanks,
Karen
This is a really motivating article. I think that putting the time that you have left in life in days rather than years is better. You don’t see the number clicking downwards as often when you think in years as you do when you think in days. Looking at it this way has helped me out since it really puts your time in a realistic light.
Steve´s last blog ..6 Reasons to Meditate (And How to Get Started)
Welcome Steve,
Realistically, we don’t know how many days, months or years we have left so whatever works as motivation to not let the past hinder us from doing what we want to do with our lives in the future.
Thanks for stopping by,
Karen
I often think about the importance of time as I get older. It has become the most precious thing I have. I want to live it on my terms, and not waste one moment.
Hal Brown´s last blog ..WordPress 3 Update
I agree, Hal, that I want to live my life on my own terms and not waste any more of my precious time. I want the next 15 000 days to have meaning.
I never thought of life this way. It’s interesting when you out it this way and really makes you want to live for this very moment. Great message and I’m sorry about your loss.
Eric´s last blog ..Why Consider Persons With Disabilities When Making Your Blog – Pop Post
Thanks for your kind words, Eric and I’m glad that you liked the message.
I’ve only got 17,885 days to go Karen! Can’t spend time commenting, must. be. more. productive. aaaah. I love the way you weave a moral and a lesson and a story and an inspirational dialogue all into one, you really do make it easier for one to lead a more meaningful existence Karen!.
SOrry for the your family loss and also thankyou for sharing this story and lesson with us.
Take care – ALex
Oh, Alex, you’re so funny! You must spend more time with your wife and son and not be so productive!
Thanks for making me smile today.
Karen
Hi Karen,
I’m sorry to hear about your loss. It does put things into perspective and you took it a step further by getting me to do the math! Oy
Thank you for being a shining light and indeed giving meaning to existence.
Love and Light
Hi Kim,
Sorry to have to make you think of the math this afternoon
Thanks very much for the kind words.
Karen
It’s the moments that make a life, so make the most of the moments! Thanks for making me get out the calculator.
Clearly Composed´s last blog ..~ Thoughts on Rebuilding Trust
You couldn’t have said it better, CC. It’s the day by day moments that make up our lives.
First of all I’m sorry about your loss.
Your Aunt certainly lived a very full life. I’m sure you have very fond memories.
I do think that you raise some very good points. 10,000 days or 5000 days is plenty of time to make a difference.
Great reminder of this.
Matthew Needham´s last blog ..How to achieve big results with small steps
Hi Matthew,
Thank you for your kind words on the loss of my Aunt. She did live a full life.
Each day we can make a difference. It doesn’t matter how many days we have left – it only takes one to make a difference in our life and the lives we touch. Thank you for that reminder
Karen
Karen
It even sounds worse if you say, you only have x Christmas’s left.
Try this exercise. Take 81 and minus your current age.
Say you are 65. 81 – 65 = 16.
16 Christmas’s left!
Love every day.
Andrew
Andrew @ Blogging Guide´s last blog ..Overcoming Blogging Burnout: Here Is How
Well, good thing I’m not 65!
The point is to have a greater number, not a lower number – otherwise that’s just depressing
But, it is only more than 6 months away…
Hi Karen,
You definitely offer up some food for thought. It reminded me of a documentary I just saw about the artist Robert Raushenberg. He said something like, “I’ve been making art for 60 years… you can make ALOT of stuff in 60 years!…” This struck me as incredibly inspiring because we always hear that life is short, and I found this as a great call to arms to be productive, prolific & creative. It is a great reminder that we are really here to express the highest version of ourselves. And as you so deftly point out, there is a lot of living to do!
Welcome Rob,
Thanks for the insightful comment.
No matter what your age, there’s still a lot of living to do as no one knows when there time is up. I know how boring and tedious doing the same thing every day can be, but there are a lot of opportunities for us to spruce up the remaining time we have. We just have to be look for it and be prepared for the opportunities.
Karen
Excellent post Karen,
Though I am only 25 still but all of my fun days seemed like they passed to quickly. I have a family now with a son and expecting another. I wouldn’t trade it for the world but sometimes I miss my teenage days. Now I realize life will go by quick but we are afforded enough time in life to find meaning. The biggest part to finding meaning is acting on what you have when you can. Like you said don’t live your life with regrets. Do what you feel is right. I hope my two cents adds in well to your post. Have a great day!
Ryan Hanzel´s last undefined ..Response cached until Thu 24 @ 1:37 GMT (Refreshes in 39 Minutes)
Hi Ryan,
Your two cents are worth a lot more! Thanks for sharing your meaningful life story, so far. You certainly have a lot of fun times ahead of you with your family and being so young.
Karen
Bravo Karen, well said!! Having fun, making the most of life, following dreams and living full of optimism and enthusiasm is not merely for the young. Our own mindset and outlook decides what energy and vitality we have. I feel like I’m still 25 though my body says otherwise. That’s not going to stop me because I see it as nature’s brilliant balancing tool. When you have an older body you are forced to relax, chill out, refresh and replenish more after all the fun, adventure and enjoyment. What can be better? An inbuilt inner R&R radar. Boy life is great and it just gets better and better. Who’s for carefree living??
John Sherry´s last blog ..You Gotta Have Faith
Hi John
You’re so right, as usual. At any age, we can make the decision to follow our dreams, live life with no regrets and be optimistic about our current life and the life we have left. I’m sure many people admire that attitude (I know I do!).
Thanks for sharing,
Karen