Time Value of Time

“To understand the value of a year, talk to a student who has failed an important exam. To understand the value of a month, talk to a mother who has given birth to a baby a month prematurely. To understand the value of a week, talk to the publisher of a weekly newspaper. To understand the value of an hour, talk to a couple in love who are separated and want only to be together again. To understand the value of a minute, talk to someone who has just missed their train or plane flight. To understand the value of a second, talk to someone who has lost a loved one in an accident. And to understand the value of a millisecond, talk to someone who won the silver medal at the Olympic Games.” - Anonymous

Time is the great equalizer of humanity. Each second passes by at exactly the same rate for you as it does for me. 

We all possess a finite supply of potential time, based on our individual lifespans. Memento mori, the Latin phrase goes, remember that you will die.

When I was younger (right around high school), I remember becoming somewhat consumed by the fear of becoming insignificant; I felt that no matter what I did or accomplished, it wouldn’t matter since my entire life was merely a grain of sand in the desert of time – a fleeting moment in the history of the universe. So what’s the point of doing anything anymore? Why don’t I just resign my fate to the universe while I play video games and browse pictures of cats all day? Does anything even matter? 

This triggered a full-blown existential crisis that left me questioning and criticizing a lot of things in my own life. It took me a while to eventually come to terms with myself (and my teenage angst) and to accept ideas that conflicted with my previous model of the world. Yes, our perception of time is finite. And yes, our very existence is only a fleeting representation of mankind, and the universe will continue to exist with or without us.

Interestingly, taking this pessimistic/nihilistic approach actually made me happier with myself. Being aware of life’s transient nature allowed me to appreciate it for what it is, instead of constantly seeking more for its own sake. 

I’ve now digressed from my main point. If you have been reading up to this point, I must now ask you:

• How do you spend your time?
• Do you prioritize well?
• Are you diligent in pursuing what makes you happy?
• Are you able to say “no” to things/people that don’t matter?

Basically, it boils down to this question: are you maximizing your quality of life with the time you have?

You probably are thinking about this topic with regards to work/life balance. All of us at some point feel some society-laden (or self-driven) guilt about taking time to do other things we enjoy, instead of working for the sake of working. After all, when the rest of the world is “hustling” and “doing big things”, why should you be the only one enjoying your sweet time? This sort of thinking may be influenced by the American tendency to glorify workaholism – which, perhaps, is a byproduct of the “American Dream”.

Obviously, blindly exerting time and effort doesn’t necessarily lead to a better quality of life. Sometimes, you have to take a step back and reassess your priorities and where you are in life. But of course, this sort of self-analysis is very difficult to do accurately, since by definition you are too close to yourself.

Now, I don’t mean this to be a “lazy manifesto” – if you’d rather be doing “work” than anything else anyways…then by all means, go ahead. But it’s not for everyone. If you always feel inadequate and guilty because you feel like you’re not spending enough time “working”, then maybe it’s because you’re over-prioritizing work over more important things in your life. 

If you feel this way, then you should make it an absolute priority to take control of your time so that you spend it a.) when you want to, b.) with who you want to spend it with, and c.) how you want to spend it. Make it a priority to prioritize correctly - and don’t feel guilty about it!

I hope I’ve reminded you of the value of your own time (if you’ve forgotten). I hope you’ll make good decisions with it. I’ll leave you with this simple nugget of wisdom: life is short, but it is up to us to make it sweet.

So carpe diem, but memento mori.