The Problem Is: You Think You Have Time

My Urgent Reminder

2026 is off to a rip-roaring start. On New Year’s Day, the wife and I had to drive eight hours to my parents’ home. Not to visit them, but to move them into a nursing home. Good times.

We had home health care coming daily for a long time, and it just became clear that it wasn’t enough anymore. So we made the decision, and we moved them into the senior care facility. That was a challenge, but nothing excessive. It wasn’t loads of fun, of course. But it was very clearly necessary and we knew we had to do it. So we did it. However, more than the act of selling off their stuff, parsing through old paperwork, keepsakes, and the lifetime supply of band-aids my mom was hoarding, or the physical act of moving furniture, clothes, and toiletries, what stuck with me the most was that we think we have time. And we don’t.

I’m no spring chicken. I’m old enough to have parents in their 80’s. But there are so many times I make plans for “someday”, as my life is steadily ebbing. It’s easy to do when you’re in your 20’s, 30’s, even 40’s. We say, “someday I’ll take that trip, master that hobby, smooth over that relationship, save money, go back to school, get in shape”, and the list goes on.

Someday Never Comes

However, as I’m dealing with aging parents, who are in their final stage of life, I see that “someday” is gone for them. Anything they wanted to do, see, try, say – it’s over. Beyond the current gravity of the situation, they’ve been in this place for a few years now. Sure, some of that is self-inflicted. They could have made better choices about caring for themselves. Diet, exercise, community involvement weren’t priorities for them. But aside from their choices, the average life expectancy in the U.S. sits somewhere around 80, so they’re basically right on track.

Do It Now

So regardless of where you are in your journey (maybe your folks are already deceased, or maybe you’re decades away from that) use my experience to clarify your path. Whatever that thing is you want to do, but aren’t – whatever your “someday” is… stop waiting. Now is the time, and the time is now! You’re dying, right now. Every day is another grain of sand in the bottom of the hourglass.

Tim McGraw wrote an amazing song years ago called “Live Like You Were Dyin'”. This is more profound than I can communicate in a blog post. DO IT NOW. Whatever “IT” is. Love more, try more, risk more, live more. You get one go around (as far as we all know), so make the most of it every single day. I know this sounds too simple. And I know it sounds easy. But I also know, it isn’t.

The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation – Henry David Thoreau

Don’t Settle

Most people are content to meander through life. Not living with purpose or intent, but rather letting life live them. To be clear, I’m not talking about bungee jumping, sky diving, or other extreme sports. Although those things are fine if they’re your bag. I’m talking about the real stuff. Have a job you hate? Quit. Have a relationship that needs work? Fix it. 30 pounds overweight? Make a change today. This is your one shot at the life you want to live. No do-overs.

So You Don’t Have Regrets Later

Someday, hopefully, you’ll be 80, and any of these things you wanted to do won’t be an option anymore. The job you kept for 20 years that made you miserable, the 30 extra pounds you carried, the trips to the gym you skipped, the walks you didn’t take, the conversations you never had… all gone.

If you’re in that place where you know you’re ready for a change. Where you don’t want to wake up at 80 and have regrets about all the things you didn’t do or say, then today’s that day. It takes one second to make a decision to do it differently. The rest will happen over time, one action at a time, incrementally.

Drop a comment and tell me what you’re going to do with the time you have left on Earth. I sincerely want to talk about it with you.