How to Live a Long Life

It is not that life is short, it is that we squander it...

That's more or less a famous quote from Socrates. And it is illuminating in a few ways.

Even more than 2000 years ago, where the life expectancy was somewhere in the 30's, Socrates said that life wasn't short. That people just squander their time. Even though there was so much that could have been done, but wasn't.

Nowadays we have endlessly more distractions, with the internet connecting us all around the world. With phones in our pockets, constantly calling for us to pay attention to it.

The 9-5 is less grueling that in year's past. Yet we at best live for the weekends, and maybe take a couple of vacations every year.

Every once in a while, we call back home to our family, and friends. Where we count the # of times we will call our Grandparents before they pass. Life is short. Maybe we will only meet with a friend of ours only a few more times.

If our parents live far away, maybe we will only see them 10 more times.

More than ever before, we need to remember that life is short, if we let it be short.

And the remedy to fix it..

Be Present And Focus

It may seem obvious, but that's really what is needed. But the hardest thing to do is to really figure out and let go of those distractions.

The vast majority of people spend most of their day being distracted. But maybe not in a way you expect.

People are angry, when they should get along. They aren't having fun when they are with others. They are mindlessly scrolling through the internet. And they don't know what they are doing. Why they are doing it. And they definitely aren't thinking about if they should stop.

The games worth playing, are worth winning. And to truely win at that game, you need to stop playing

People are distracted by how they feel, and never truely understand how they feel. Meditation is a good way to uncover a bit of this. But really analyzing how you are with friends, family, strangers, and most importantly yourself, will reveal who you are as a person. And how you spend your time. You need to figure out if that is really who you want to be. And if there is something you actually want to do. If you don't know, then you haven't looked long enough. You haven't done enough, haven't explored enough. For some, it won't be easy. But you need to find out who you, where you are, for you to stop being lost. Find yourself. And have a honest conversation with yourself.

To really live a long life... you need to not waste your time. Be in the present. Live a good life. By taking consistent action. A few seconds at a time.

When you enjoy every moment. When you can go through the tough times to make it through with purpose. When you are able to push through, and get things done.

That is when you live a long life. Because you can go far, and enjoy the whole journey.

To live a long life, means to set a course, and to enjoy it thoroughly.

So yeah, don't squander your life. Find a way to thoroughly enjoy it.