Stop Living As If Your Life Doesn’t Have An Expiry Date On It

Have you ever gone throughout a day and then at the end of it, you felt as if you didn’t used the time as best as you should? Maybe you identified all the things that needed to be done, but in the end, you didn’t make much progress, either because in the moment you didn’t feel like doing any of the things you identified or because you allowed for distractions. Allow me to ask you another question. Have you gotten into the habit of constantly putting off and procrastinating on doing something or pursuing a dream that you have, saying “Perhaps, one day I will do this or that”?

If you can relate to any of these, then you are not alone. I personally believe that being intentional with how we use our time is vitally important. Our level of intentionality will determine our level of success. To tell you the truth, I am still learning daily how to be more intentional with my life and how I use my time. I’ve come to recognise that it is important that we learn to maximize the time we have been given, because if we don’t, we may easily miss many of the opportunities which life presents to us.

It is often stated that time is more precious than money. However, the unfortunate thing is, many people do not live as if they truly value time as much as they ought to. You see, sometimes, we fall into the trap of trading our time for less valuable things, for example: choosing to spend long hours on social media just for temporary satisfaction, saying “yes” to everyone’s requests even though they may not align with our life’s purpose/vision or trading multiple hours of our time just to receive a pay check. However, despite these things may not be wrong or bad, the reality is, once time is gone you cannot get it back no matter how hard you try. Therefore, we must choose wisely what we will do with the time we are given. We must treat our time as a precious and valuable resource.

We are all given the same 24 hours in each day, but one of the differentiating factors between those who become successful and those who passively go through life is how they use their time. The devastating reality is, many people live as if their life doesn’t have an expiry date on it. They make the mistake of saying, “I have plenty of time, I will do this tomorrow”, or “I am young, so I have multiple years ahead of me” or “I will eventually get around to doing this one day” as if tomorrow or the future is promised/guaranteed for them. However, there will eventually come a time in your life when tomorrow will never come and the interesting thing about life is, we don’t know when that will be. Some of you reading this right now may reach the golden mark of 70 years while others may be younger and only have 7 more weeks, months or even days left to live. We do not know when that time will be. But what I do know is that right now, you have a chance of a lifetime. Thus, we must stop living as if our life doesn’t have an expiry date on it. We must maximize the opportunities which come our way.

I don’t want you to go throughout life, then to look back one day on your death bed and say “I wish I would’ve done this” or “If only I started earlier, how much more could I have done”. So many people go to their graves filled with so much unused potential. In fact, the legendary Les Brown puts it this way, “the grave is one of the richest places on earth because so many people go there without ever tapping into their fullest potential”. The songs which could’ve been written, the books and movies which could’ve been published and produced, the businesses and the ministries which could’ve been created, the life stories and words of hope which could’ve been shared, all seem to wither away with the lives of those who chose not to be brave enough, courageous enough or intentional enough to make the most out of the life which they were given.

But, when I die, I want to die empty. I want to give it my all here now, so that when my life is presented before God, that He would say well done. Not because everything was good, but rather because I chose to be faithful and became everything that He placed me on this earth to be. In order for me to do this, I can’t passively live with the “roll with the flow” mentality. I must live with a sense of urgency and intentionality.

Please understand however, that I am not saying that you should try to do everything all at once. Instead I am saying to steward your time well and make the most out of the opportunities you have. Instead of saying “One day I will pursue my dreams of …. (fill in the blank)” choose to start today. Let today be your day number 1.

But, in order for you to maximize your life and the opportunities that come your way, there is something important which you must first do. You must become clear on the things which are most important and valuable to you.

When a person becomes clear about the things which matter most to them, then they can prioritize those areas in their life. Too many times we give priority to the wrong things and then we wonder why things may seem to go chaotic. However, we must learn to put everything in its rightful place. Priorities help you identify what's truly needed and important in your life.

To become clear on the things which matter most to you, you must take some time to reflect and evaluate your life.

Some questions which can help you in your analysis can include the following:

·        If you knew that you had only a year left on this earth, what would you do differently?

·        What impact would you like your life to have on others?

·        Who are the people depending on you?

·        Are you currently doing things which you may need to let go of because they are draining you more than fulfilling you? If so, what are those things?

·        Identify those things which are most important to you? (Eg. family, faith, fitness, finances, etc)

·        If there were two things you would like to do before you leave this earth, what would it be? 

When you become clear as to what is most important for you, you must then make the time to strike a balance between those important areas in life.

I therefore encourage you, do not waste the opportunities that come your way today. Some opportunities may never come twice. I am not only referring to big opportunities such as career opportunities, but I am also referring to those things you may consider smaller opportunities.

Use the opportunity today to:

- Tell a love one how much you appreciate them

- Show kindness to someone

- Make a difference in someone's world

- Let a team member know how much they are valued

- Grow to become an all-round better person

Whatever opportunity comes your way today, (big or small), use it wisely. Don’t waste this precious gift called life, because when it’s gone, you can’t get it back. Be intentional with your life.