Out Learning Your Lifespan

I was recently chatting with a friend of mine during a break for a new job I have recently embarked on when we started talking about various things that we were working towards or had accomplished in the last few years.

We talked in a very carefree way about our accomplishments, failures, goals, and general acts of outlandish behavior when my friend commented to me,

“How old are you again?”

“24”, I replied.

“You have done a hell of a lot of stuff for someone so young.”

“It’s because I value new experiences above anything else, life is too short to try something new every day.”

“My friend told me something once that applies a lot to you. He said, “You can’t outlearn your lifespan.””

I was so impressed by this quote that I asked him to repeat it as I wrote it down and told him that I would write a post about it on my website.

See Solomon, I wasn’t bullshitting you.

Out learning your lifespan is something that not everyone attempts to do, but I have fallen victim to it again and again. There have been consistent moments in my life where all I wanted to do is absorb as much new information as possible, about as many topics of interest, and become an expert in every capacity at every single thing that I attempted to accomplish.

In a lot of ways, I have succeeded in this area, in others; I have fallen flat on my face. While attempting to expand who you are is never a bad thing, trying to constantly get ahead of yourself at nearly every junction of life is a sure fire recipe for burn out.

You can’t outlearn your lifespan.

Its an inescapable truth in life. No matter how many things you try to accomplish, how many countries you visit, or how many skills you attempt to learn, you will always be faced with a bucket list that is not completed.

Almost like a sigh of relief for my life, trying to accept the notion that I cannot achieve omnipotence is soothing to my soul, as trying to run around like a serial killer slashing through one goal and the next is rather exhausting. I am beginning to learn that taking things easy, and slowing down to appreciate the things that occur in life has a much cleaner and simpler appeal than being Jack the Ripper of life accomplishments.

So take heed dear reader, and relish in the fact that no matter how much of a badass you are, you will never do everything you want to do before you die.

Cheers

Gabriel