https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOksW_NabEk (please watch this 3 minute video)
The author of the above video uses a jellybean to metaphorically represent each day of a person’s average life span – which is 28,835 days or 79 years. In a clever way, the author breaks up the days of our lives into activities that we spend time doing. Below are his estimates:
28,835 days or roughly 79 years to live our lives.
-5,473 days represent the first 15 years (which is approximately where most of your are in life)
-8,477 days sleeping
-1,635 days eating and drinking
-3,202 days working
-1,099 days traveling or commuting
-2,676 days watching television
-1,576 days doing chores, shopping, running errands
-564 days tending to the needs of others
-671 days bathing, grooming and other bathroom activities
-720 days volunteering, going to church or other civic duties
2,742 days or 65,808 hours left to do what matters to you.
This video is such an important reminder that life is short, life is fleeting and life will end someday for all of us. Sure, we all know this, but most of us get so immersed in the details of daily life that we forget that we are living a life – a life with purpose and meaning and joy and passion and love and fun and laughter and charity and triumph and… When we are old and gray, we should be able to look back at our lives and say that it was a life worth living.
What I love about this video is it gives a tangible view of our days. This video acknowledges that many of our days are spent doing things that we “have to do” and not necessarily what we “want to do.” We all need to sleep, eat and go to the bathroom. Most of us who are part of the American mainstream also have “should do’s,” like go to school, work, take care of family members, bathe, do chores and commute to and from home.
After completing all the “have to’s,” and “should do’s,” we must still use good judgment as to how we spend our days, our hours, our minutes. Do we watch TV, interact with devices and play video games or do we help others, contribute to society and live life to the fullest. It is a question that each person has to answer for him/herself. All of us will one day ask it of ourselves. I just contend that it is better to plan to live your life with intentionality now rather than look back on your life with regret.
Your Turn: Please place your comments below, (2) like and share our Facebook page (character development & leadership) or (3) tweet to @CDandLeadership)
1. Make a list of the top 5 things you should spend your time on in your life (what matters to you, what will bring you fulfillment and joy)? When completed, describe how you will set aside time to prioritize these aspects of your life.
2. As a homework assignment, interview someone over the age of 70 and ask her/him, “If you could do it all over again, what three things would you have spent more time on in your life and what three things would you have spent less time on?”