"Life is Long--If You Know How to Use It"

by Skip Cohen

​A week ago, I wrote my last post before taking a much-needed break from writing and social media. I wanted a little time to recharge. Nothing complicated, just an opportunity for a little respite and to make the holiday season, Sheila, Lucy, and Belle a priority.

Well, the time off has been perfect and gone well beyond expectations. On the 26th of December, one of my favorite authors, Lou Mitchell, in his book The Daily Stoic, wrote a piece with the title I quoted above. He started with a quote from Seneca:

It's not at all that we have too short a time to live, but that we squander a great deal of it. Life is long enough, and it's given in sufficient measure to do many great things if we spend it well...

The thoughts of a Greek philosopher from almost 2000 years ago really hit home. In fact, what he wrote tied in directly with what I was thinking when I decided to take this past week off. Then Lou Mitchell added his own thoughts:

No one knows how long they have to live, but sadly, we can be sure of one thing: we'll waste far too much of life. Waste it sitting around, waste it chasing the wrong things, waste it by refusing to take the time to ask ourselves what's actually important to us...So today, if you find yourself rushed or uttering the words, "I just don't have enough time," stop and take a second. Is this actually true or have you just committed to a lot of unnecessary things? Are you actually being efficient, or have you assumed a great deal of waste into your life? The average American spends something like forty hours a year in traffic. That's months over the course of a life. And for "traffic," you can substitute so many activities--from fighting with others to watching television or daydreaming.

Your life is plenty long — just use it properly.

It was the perfect motivational reading to tie in with wrapping up 2025. It's been a year of so much wasted time, especially worrying about things I can't control, and I'm not alone. There are so many people who seem to have lost their roadmap for life's journey and their original goals.

The truth is, none of this is anything I haven't written about over the years--It's all about holding focus and recognizing when you're off a beat and need a break...before you crash and burn. And the first signal should be the minute you start thinking, "I just don't have enough time!"

I had one goal when I got up this Sunday morning: to wrap up the year by sharing something important to all of us. It's all in Seneca's quote: Life is long enough...if we spend it well!

Wishing everybody a day ahead and a new year that brings with it time to appreciate all the good things in your life and an outlook that allows you to change whatever's not working for you. Spending your time wisely doesn't mean you have to be productive every minute; just be aware of the power you have to control your own narrative. Success in life is in part about waking up excited for the opportunities ahead and going to sleep at night with a sense of accomplishment for whatever direction you're headed.

Most important of all, as you hit those eleven-second therapeutic hugs I always write about, cherish the people you're hugging. They're the core of your network, your "village," and together there's nothing that can't be accomplished.

Happy Sunday...or Monday on the other side of the world.