This is presently one of the most important principles on how I live my life.
I remember a year or two ago talking to someone I know about how I think about my life and the most succinct way I could put it was that my day is my life.
I have always been aware of my mortality. When I came across content on stoicism, I found a principle called Memento Mori which translates to “remember your mortality” and it resonated a lot with how I live.
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My day is my life
Society thinks of life in a linear timeline with standard milestones. Age zero to eighty from birth to school, work, family, retirement and death.
For me, time is circular or cyclical. I think of my life in 24 hour cycles thus making my day my life,
How does this work?
I think of my life in 3 main areas:
- Relationship with self (personal development and wellness)
- Relationship with loved ones
- Relationship with society (career and education)
I dedicate some time every day to each of these three areas be it it is 15 minutes or 5 hours. The time allocation varies depending on my priorities.
Is it like living each day like its your last?
Not quite.
I feel like that approach is more of a bucket list mindset. When I think of this, bungee jumping and sky diving come to mind. My approach is more laid-back and simple.
How has this perspective impacted your life?
a present over an aspirational mindset.
We often delay our plans because of future that isn’t guaranteed. With this approach, I don’t feel limited by my what I can accomplish in the present.
Delayed gratification has its perks but I feel like it has been abused. We have been made to believe that we cannot live our ideal lives today. We must continue putting in the work for a perfect future that may never come.
I set better goals
I think of it this way: how would an ideal day in my life look like? I then write out how my current days look. Wherever there is a difference, I figure out how to bridge the gap.
Goal setting for me is simply aligning my current day with my ideal day.
Sharon Malonza
Once have a model on how I’d like this area of my life to be, I turn that into a project, consider the cost/resources needed for it, divide the project into clear tasks and then just sprinkle them over the course of my day/week/month/life.
I appreciate the mundane
I don’t know what makes people’s lives extraordinary but I think gratitude is a factor.
Whenever I feel like my day sucked and I didn’t accomplish as much as I wanted to, I make a list of everything that happened to and through me. Every time I have done this, I realized how fruitful my day was because I touched on all 3 areas that mattered to me in one way or another.
However, there is a thin line between being grateful for the mundane and being fearful and complacent. Where do you draw the line between ” not having any aspirations because you are satisfied with the current trajectory of your life and “you don’t have aspirations because you are afraid of stepping out your comfort zone”?
Some people are afraid of failure, others are afraid of success which I learnt is called the Jonah Complex. I am learning to find a delicate balance between contentment and complacency.
I have got Future Sharon’s back
The idea that my day is my life means I often do what’s good for me. Since present and future me are technically not that different, I always have my future self’s back. The 15 minute jump rope workout I did today makes me feel good today but keeps my bones strong for tomorrow.
Time matters a lot more to me
I realized that I may never have long stretches of time dedicated to one particular thing, like a whole week dedicated to content creation or a month solely to spend time with my loved ones. So 5 minutes here, 10 minutes there and 15 minutes mean a lot more to me.
I have to be consistent
My life model relies on me making bite-sized progress repeatedly . Therefore, consistency is not optional for me. Finding ways to beat procrastination and create routines is the best thing I can do for myself.
How do you think about your life? Share it in the comments down below.
As always, thank you so much for stopping by!
“Always remember that your hair is your crown and your body is a temple; embrace it, love it and take care of it.”
