Kare Partners

I'm not sure where I first came across the perspective altering technique of focusing on only having 100 years to live, but I remember it stopped me in my tracks. I believe it first came to me through reading something relating to dealing with difficult problems. The idea was to press pause on the problem for a moment and think of it in the context of 100 years. Several thoughts come to mind. First, no human problem lasts 100 years. Also, if you just adjust your frame of view to 100 years most of the things that consume our day-to-day energy really seem ridiculous.

Another powerful 100 years thought is that the duration of anything in your life, triumph or trial, is less than 100 years. The simple fact is most of us spend the vast majority of our time and energy on things that will not matter in 10 years, let alone 100. Think about it, how many people have deeply impacted our planet beyond their own lives. It's a small number. Every day we stand tall on the shoulders of those who came before us. I'm doing it right now sitting in a air-conditioned building (I didn't invent air-conditioning, let alone indoor plumbing!), typing on a wonderful machine that will bring this though to you no matter where you are. Amazing.

A thought that vexes me nearly every day is:  what will I do, in my entire lifetime that will impact others in this way? Even if I do get 100 years to try, it's a daunting challenge.