What have you done with yours lately, and what will you do with the ones you have left?

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I was watching a talk by Kevin Kelly on TED titled, The Next 5,000 Days of the Web, when it occurred to me that time, when defined by days instead of months or years, paints a different picture and affords a new perspective.  The thought started when I asked myself how long is 5,000 days, exactly.  It doesn’t sound like a long time, yet 5,000 days is the equivalent of 13.7 years!  Somehow, there’s a disconnect in my brain between 5,000 days and 13.7 years.  Did you do a double take too?

My next thought that follows was, “how long is an average human life as defined in days?”  If you assume the average human life span is 75 years, then it translates to be approximately 28,000 days long.  I don’t know about you, but 28,000 days seem like a very short time!  It is especially so when you imagine and grasp that EACH passing day is one less from what you have left.  I think the thought and act of the daily count down makes me feel very mortal!  It also alerted me to the fact that I haven’t done much in making a difference in this world, yet I’ve crossed off more than 10,000 days of my life already!  My life is more than 1/3 over, yet I haven’t accomplished much!  It’s a very sobering thought.  Perhaps this is the first time in my life where I feel completely vulnerable!

As solemn as the thought is, it also serves as a wake-up call for me.  From now on, I am going to make sure I accomplish at least one thing everyday that would make me proud to cross that day off my total days left.  It need not be huge, but it should definitely be something meaningful to me.  I don’t want to spend the next 10,000 days of my life in oblivion.

How about you?  How many days have you crossed off, and are you proud of the way you spent your days?  How do you intend to spend your remaining days?  Make them count — all of them!