⏳ BUT THE YEARS ARE SHORT.

Growing up, my dad used to tell my sisters and me:

Life is a string. The first few inches shape the rest. 🧵

In my early 20s as a newlywed living 4,000 miles from home, I decided to upgrade that string and plop it into a Word doc using the giant Dell laptop that carried me through five years of undergrad x grad school.

When my husband and I were facing the to re-enlist, or not to re-enlist? question countless military families face each year, I consulted my trusty table:

If we re-enlist for five more years, how old will my parents be?

How old will we be?

How old will our hypothetical kids (usually three of 'em ;)) be?

What if we stay active for the full 20 before moving back to Texas?

Even if the peek forward in time made me cry, I'd find comfort in the sobering reality check of the big picture. Still do.

Cue Darius Rucker: "It won't be like this for long." 🎶

Or we can go full existential and cue Barbie 2023: "Do you guys ever think about dying?" 🙃

Of course we don't know what's gonna happen to whom and when.

Life is precious at every age and every stage. No day is guaranteed.

But when I'm facing a big decision or need to refresh my vision for a particular area of life, zooming out to see the MATH offers a healthy reminder that there is an eventual end to this string.

One day, my kids won’t live under my roof.

One day, these three generations won’t all be on the sidelines for Sporty Saturdays.

One day, I won’t have the same energy (or time) to bring all my stored-up ideas to life.

There's literal, once-in-a-lifetime treasure in this very moment. 💎

Last year I upgraded the ol' table into a spreadsheet titled "⌛️ THE YEARS ARE SHORT" for myself and my clients, inspired by Gretchen Rubin's famous quote from her book The Happiness Project:

"The days are long, but the years are short."

I put the years across the top columns and each of our names in the rows down the side.

I bold the big milestone birthday years and note the kids' respective ages and what year of school they'll be in.

I’ve noted when they’ll start driver’s ed (hello, teenage car insurance!), time to start applying for scholarships, when schedules will be FULL with sports, dance, activities of choice, etc.

(I also add net worth targets for each age, because I take my #nanagoals seriously. 🤑)

There are so many gaps I can't plan or filter for, but this baseline exercise really helps me focus on what matters most right now, with respect to what matters most always.

Is this weird? MAYBE.

Is it useful? For those of us who are very fam-driven in decision-making, yes.

Sharing today in case it helps you bring your BIG DECISION ENERGY into perspective.

Whatever you're sweating today - is it going to matter two, five, 25 years from now?

Does YOU: 2050 have a hot take or pro tip that could be useful right now?

Only you know the answers to these Qs.

Hope you'll make time for them today so you can make a decision that allows you to move forward with full spark and confidence. ⚡️

Know that I'm here + happy to support if you'd like help with that. ❤️