How Long You Have Left

We only have a limited time on this earth … and a lot of it is spent on frivolous activities. 

How much time do you think the average millennial spends on their phones … or a baby-boomer sits in front of the TV?

The answer is a lot.

Although this chart hasn't been updated recently, it still provides a helpful glimpse of the bigger picture. 

 

How-much-time-we-have-infographic (1)via Anna Vital

Nine years in front of entertainment devices – another 10.5 years spent working. You get the idea.

If you have goals you want to accomplish, places you want to go, and lifestyle aspirations to experience, this puts the idea of finding and living your passion into perspective. 

Do you have the time to waste it?

VisualCapitalist put together a chart projecting longevity based on 2020 mortality rates.

 

OC_Life-Expectancy-by-Age_1600px_Oct31

via visualcapitalist
 

According to this calculator, since I'm over 60, I only have about 20 years left.   I expect more!

There are some interesting statistical facts in this; for example, an average American baby boy can expect to live until 74 … but if that boy turns 21, his life expectancy jumps to over 75. 

While these numbers appear high, there are two key considerations. First, COVID-19 heavily reduced these numbers because mortality rates increased. 

Also, remember that these numbers are based on 2020 averages, which may differ from your own (specifically considering your race, income, location, etc.). These numbers also don't take into account expected medical and technology advances, etc. 

Ultimately, I believe Purpose is one of the most significant catalysts of longevity. People often die when they retire … not because they're done working, but because they're done striving. 

If you're not growing, you're dying!

Comments

One response to “How Long You Have Left”

  1. Buzz Bruggeman Avatar

    Inside our app, ActiveWords, https://activewords.com/, we built a “productivity center”. The logic was that if ActiveWords saved you say 5 seconds on a text expansion, and you valued your time at say $60 an hour or a dollar a minute, that translated into not only saving you 5 seconds but more importantly translated into $.08 worth of your time. After 20 years of evangelizing that time = money, I think we have concluded that people don’t care, they think they have unlimited time, so that it doesn’t matter. The simple proposition of suggesting that investing a minute to save a minute over and over just doesn’t seem to matter. David Allen of #GTD fame, once told a friend that he loved ActiveWords because he was at his core lazy, and wanted to spend the time he had doing fun things.
    I 100% percent agreed with your thesis that “Purpose” is the key, but at the same time I’m fascinated as you also opine, the willingness of people to waste their time on stuff that truly doesn’t count.

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