It's Never Too Late
We are the sum of our choices over time. See someone who is overweight? You can tell with a high degree of certainty what choices he/she makes daily around nutrition and exercise. The same applies to other areas of our lives – financial, relationships, etc. To be sure, there are some things outside of our control. We can be hit with an unexpected disease no matter what great health habits we practice daily. But by and large, we control our future through the choices we make moment to moment, day to day, week to week.
And what is amazing – and so powerful – is how quickly you can see profound changes to your circumstances once you make different choices (good or bad). The former collegiate athlete can quickly turn into the out of shape twenty something by no longer practicing the things that kept him or her healthy.
On the positive side (which is what we are focused on here), a few different choices, compounded over time, can lead to a dramatically different life. Here is a key factor to consider – it is never too late. There are so many great examples of choices people made later in life that lead to great things well past their 30s, 40s and even 50s. Just look at someone in the news a lot, Bill Gates. He had a successful career at MSFT, and could have easily set sail into retirement (on a very large yacht) with his wife and family. But he made a choice, in his 50s, to dedicate his time and resources to helping the world combat terrible diseases. His work and money has literally saved millions of lives since he stepped down at MSFT. Talk about having an impact! But he knew virtually nothing about viruses and other diseases while focusing on business. He made a choice to dedicate his time to learning something new, and what a positive impact he’s had on the world.
Your vision might not be as grand (although I’d encourage you to always think and act big), but you can still make choices in all aspects of your life – today – that will dramatically impact your future. You could quit drinking alcohol and lose weight and gain tremendous amounts of energy and mental clarity. Think of all the things you could do with that extra time, money, and focus. You could spend a little less time on NFLX each day and dedicate that time to learning a new language, and a year from now travel to that country and communicate with the locals. Talk about a rich experience!
Most people, when assessing their current life experiences, say there is nothing they can do to change them. That it is someone else’s fault, or too late to do anything about it. I’m here to tell you that is just an excuse. You CAN do something about it, and once you make the choice, take some action, and gain momentum, the only thing you’ll think about is why you didn’t start earlier. While none of us knows when our last day on earth will be (and thus we should live life to the fullest daily and appreciate all that we have regularly), there is a good chance you’ll be around for a bit longer, so take inventory of your current situation and pick areas where you would like to make some positive changes. There is no one – other than you - stopping you from an even better tomorrow. The choice is yours.
