Have you ever been sucked in to a song? The lyrics just clung to your attention with an iron grip, refusing to release you until the last note finally faded?
That?s exactly what happened to me this morning, listening to the song ?7 years old? by Lukas Graham. A sense of awe and wonder struck me as I lost myself among the lyrics. He made me realize something; In fact, it almost brought me to tears.
Life is short. Shorter than you realize.
I recommend watching this video with headphones in before reading the article.
I?m currently 22 years old. But, as Lukas so aptly reminded me, soon I?ll be 60 years old with my story behind me.
What will I have done? What difference will I have made?
Will I look back on a lifetime of victory and triumph, throughout which I lived passionately and took risks?
Or will the world look dark and dreary, full of struggles and broken dreams?
Life has the meaning you give it.
Having just graduated college, I?ve begun to ponder the meaning of my life more than usual. I was so used to spending all my time working, studying, or doing homework that I failed to see past the immediate goal of graduation. It?s got me in a strange place.
I had 22 years to make something special. I haven?t made the most of those years.
I wish I tried harder in school. I wish I studied abroad. I wish I stuck to learning a language, exercising, learning to code, or even volunteering more. I wish I thought more about where I wanted to go before I set out on my path. Life is full of wishes and wants ? but you can?t do anything about your past.
You can only change your future.
A successful life is one measured in months and years, not in days or weeks ? one which thinks about it?s own lifetime as if it will pass in the blink of an eye.
And it will.
Don?t take life for granted. Live it to the fullest. Put your full effort into everything you do. Take risks and walk the path less traveled. These are all things we hear so many times from the greats of our world. But what do they really mean?
The common denominator? Find your passion.
Find something you truly care about. Do you want to end world hunger? Cure cancer? Fly to outer-space and colonize Mars? Or maybe raise a family who has aspirations of their own?
It doesn?t matter how lofty or outrageous your goals are. In fact, it takes big thinking to feel big passion. It?s impossible to be passionate about working out, reading an important new book, or even going to college or getting a new job, when doing so isn?t a step to something bigger.
Life is too short not to live passionately. Travel swiftly along the road to self-discovery. Figure out what you want in life, and take it. Don?t let the wishes and wants of regrets keep you stuck in the past.
And remember: Soon, you, too, will be 60 years old.
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A note from the author:
Thanks for reading. You make everything I do worth doing. I hope you liked it. As I expressed in my previous article, I?m going to be developing a stronger writing style and a voice of my own over the coming months. I need your feedback. Whether you loved, hated, or felt indifferent about this article, please leave a comment with your thoughts. Thank you, and here?s to our success.
