“I have spent my days
Rabindranath Tagore
stringing and unstringing my instrument
while the song I came to sing
remains unsung.”
Imagine if you will, two people. They live in similar homes, have similar backgrounds, and similar education levels.
They both have big dreams, and inside them they hold the potential to accomplish them.
Now imagine that the first one has the support of friends and family, and by a combination of luck, circumstance, training and taking risks has found themself living the life they always dreamed of.
- In the morning they wake up satisfied, refreshed and eager to start the day.
- Their mornings are filled with a leisurely pace, reflection and anticipation for what lies ahead.
- They do what they love during the day, and enjoy time with friends, family and their hobbies in the evening.
Imagine however, the second person. They too have all the same advantages – except that a combination of luck, circumstance, lack of training and perhaps hesitating instead of taking risks, they have put off their dreams.
- They considered that they will get around to what really matters to them “someday”, that there is “always tomorrow” – and they never realize that their life is slowly passing them by.
- They fill their days with tasks that perhaps matter to others, tasks they feel obligated to do, or work they never really liked but that helps them “get by.”
- Rather than enjoying their mornings or their productive hours, they feel the need to just “get through them.”
Fast forward 10, 20, 30 years – and ask yourself…
Eventually, who do you think will live a more full life – and who do you think turns out happier?
How Are You Spending Your Days
Are you spending your days…
- Doing the things you love…
- Making progress on projects that matter to you…
- Enjoying your life…
- Spending time with friends, family and others that are important to you?
- “Singing your song” – the song you came to sing, living the life you were born to lead?
Or are you spending your days…
- Waiting for your “real life” to begin…
- Stressed out over things that may or may not be what you really care about…
- Constantly preparing for a “someday” when you’ll FINALLY get a chance to do what you really want
- Metaworking, planning, busywork – and “stringing and unstringing your instrument” in frustration and overwhelm?
How Are You Spending Today
And I want to challenge you, to look at today. Look at last week. Last month, last year.
And be really honest – are you 100% satisfied with the way you’re spending today? With how you spent yesterday, last week, last month, last year? The things you did in your life, and the things you didn’t do?
Everytime I have a day where I tell myself it’s ok to waste, that it’s ok to spend time doing things I don’t enjoy, or that don’t matter to me – and I’ll make it up in the future – I remind myself of this quote:
“How we spend our days is, of course,
Annie Dillard
how we spend our lives.”
You Must “Sing”, NOW
You can’t live your life always preparing for the future and never living it.
You’ve got to take action, take control of your life and spend your time now doing the things that matter to you.
There is nothing so valuable as the life you have been given.
Your Life and Time Is Opportunity
Your life and the time you have is a tremendous gift, a tremendous opportunity – but there is a real risk of having it go to waste by either not doing the things you love, or trying to “keep busy” by doing things that don’t matter to you out of fear, frustration, procrastination or lack of motivation.
“Stringing and unstringing your instrument, while the song you came to sing remains unsung” leads to one single destination: regret for what might have been.
On the other hand, taking action, taking control and doing what actually matters in your life leads not just to enjoyment in the present moment – but also long term happiness, and a deep, profound sense of satisfaction with your life.
You can look back on your accomplishments with pride – but you can also look back on the journey, at your personal growth, and feel satisfied as a person for how you’ve changed and what you’ve done.
It’s Not Just Wasted Time…
“We say we waste time, but that is impossible.
Alice Bloch
We waste ourselves.”
Get out there.
Live your life.
You matter – do not waste yourself.
Stop stringing and unstringing your instrument, always preparing – and instead live a life of taking action.
Sing the song you were born to sing.