For me, the years are going by at a blistering pace.It seems like the longer you’re on earth the faster time goes. It probably has something to do with the relationship between how long you’ve been alive and the correlated increment of time. When you were 5 years old, one year was 20% of your life. I remember when it seemed like one day at school was an eternity. I see this play out with my kids all the time — they want to do something that I don’t want to do right then, and I suggest we put it off till tomorrow. Their response is usually a variation of “Tomorrow! That is like forever away!” I wish I still felt that way about one day. For me, the years are going by at a blistering pace and it pisses me off. Don’t get me wrong — I know it’s not all bad. If I was suffering or worried about my next meal, or stuck in a war zone, I’m sure life might come to a screeching halt. So I get that I am lucky to not have those kinds of concerns. That said, I’m always looking for ways to try to slow things down a bit and really embrace life while I am still here.
The following are tactics that I have come up with and others have recommended that can help. Other approaches are definitely out there, and we at ForMen.com would love to hear from you. Email us at [email protected] or include suggestions in a FB comment – let us know what works for you. We’ll update this article to reflect new suggestions as they come in.
1. Take snap shots of your life. When you experience something powerful or joyful, capture it in some way. Take a picture, write about it in a journal, or simply pause and really embrace that moment.
2. Start and end the day with reflection. Get in the habit starting off your day thinking about what you are going to get done and why. Close the day with a review of how you did relative to your plan.
3. Establish long-term goals and track them. Come up with financial, professional and personal goals at the beginning of each year and do at least a quarterly review of those goals vs. achievement. Just the process of reviewing your goals and what you have done to make them happen will force reflection and help you connect with what you do and how long it takes to get done.
4. Embrace traditions. Part of slowing down time is having periodic events that serve as reference points for the year. These are personal, but examples from my own life include an annual guys’ ski trip, a weekend at Saratoga Race Track with my father, Christmas at the beach with my family, and a summer reunion with my East Coast relatives. Every year has some set of consistent activities that you can look forward to and help mark time.
