one of the first personal development books i ever bought (the magic of psychic power!) had a number in it that shocked me so much that i have remembered it ever since - 25,500. that, according to author david j schwartz was the average number of days someone lives. (life expectancy in the developed world has increased; in japan it’s now around 82 years, near enough 30,000 days)

when i first read that figure, aged around the age of 20, it seemed such a small figure. now 30 years - or 11,000 days - later i’m rapidly eating into my allotment, if i’m lucky enough to get an average quota.

the film american beauty has a nice twist on the famous poster quote:-

“remember those posters that said, “today is the first day of the rest of your life?” well, that’s true with every day except one: the day that you die….”

in the chapter of schwartz’s book, he further illustrates his point by saying that every day 5500 americans die (it’s a generally cheerful, uplifting book!). without dwelling on that statistic, few of us like to contemplate that our death is as much a part of life as our birth. “no one gets out alive”

another perspective i often use, is to to say that today - december 31st 2008 - will never happen again. when its gone, its gone. sure, you’ve got 1st january 2009 to look forward to (hopefully) and 31st december 2009 - plus the days in between. but why waste today when you won’t have it again?

steve pavlina has a very good post on goal setting, well worth reading the whole thing. but towards the end he has this quote:-

“i was once told by someone that i should end each day by crossing it off my calendar and saying out loud, “there goes another day of my life, never to return again.” try this for yourself, and notice how much it sharpens your focus. when you end a day with the feeling that you would have lived it the same if you had the chance to repeat it, you gain a sense of gratitude that helps you focus on what’s really important to you. when you end the day with a feeling of regret or loss, you gain the awareness to try a different approach the next day”

if we’re not careful, we don’t notice that the days are passing us by. we take the paths of least resistance, sticking within our comfort zone. we watch tv all evening rather than learn skills that will help us advance. we put up with unwarranted criticism, we passively submit to requests rather than assert our needs. we allow a lack of confidence to pass up on an opportunity.
 

lacking self confidence can be a barrier to making the most of life and enjoying the moment. if you are hesitant in your ability to achieve something, you may never start it. low self esteem casts a negative shadow on your opinion of yourself. even if you do things you have a low opinion of what you have done, and get no pleasure from achievement.

looking back over the past year, or even the past week, its by doing things and stretching myself that i feel i have made the most of my days. or as the quote from steve pavlina says, i would live it the same way if allowed to repeat it. but, to use another cliche, life is not a rehearsal - there is no replay button. moreover there is no erase and record again facility!

i finish today, and this year, with a question i have recently read on freethediva:-

a bank credits your account each morning with £86,400. it carries over no balance to tomorrow. every evening you lose the balance you failed to use during the day. what would you do? (i converted the $ to £ as the pound needs all the help it can get at the moment!)