The last few months I have been thinking a lot about “midlife clarity”, a phase that people go through where they see life in terms of years ahead instead of years that have passed.
My current model for thinking about years ahead is to have different weights for each decade. Specifically, I give 40-50 a 5X weight, 50-60 4X, 60-70 3X, 70-80 2X and > 80 is 1X. So, if you are 45 and expect to live until 95, then 50% of your best life would be done when you reach 60.
If you buy this reasoning, then you need to think deeply about where and how you want to spend your time. Among the options that exist, spending the bulk of it staring at a screen, feel like the least preferable one.
Most of us constantly postpone the life we want to live with the excuse that our commitments come in the way. Change is hard and more importantly takes time. However, when you persist with a change for a long period of time, you become a new person. This article recommends that you consider a 1000 day calendar and argues that it leads to lasting change, significantly more than what can be achieved by resolutions. You could become very fluent in a new language, you can master a new instrument or you can completely change how strong and fit you are. So if you are experiencing the clarity of midlife, pause to think about how you want to reinvent yourself with disciplined practice for 1000 days.