The 2 week Holiday…

I recently wrote an article called ‘The Longest Holiday of Your Life!’.  Here a link to it if you didn’t have a chance to read it (or had better things to do!): https://www.brightonfinancial.co.uk/the-longest-holiday-of-your-life/.

Although there’s a holiday theme to this effort as well, I can assure you that cheesy holiday based puns and references will be absent.That said, it’s an important point that I want to get across and, since we’ve just to the end of the holiday season, I thought it might be useful to get you thinking a bit.To introduce the idea, think of your life as a 2 week holiday…

Getting to Your Destination...

Have you ever been on holiday for 2 weeks?  I know a lot of people tend to holiday for shorter bursts these days, but, for the purposes of this little article, let’s assume you’ve been away for 2 weeks.  2 weeks relaxing and having fun in the sun!You know the feeling.  You leave early (sometimes, VERY EARLY!) and spent most of the day travelling.  Travelling is all part of the holiday fun (at least, going out there is!) but it’s quite tiring.  You get to your hotel or apartment and you’re ready to hit the sack.

The Fun Begins!...

You wake up the next morning and you think, ‘where am I?’  Then you realise where you are and you think to yourself ‘Hey, hey, I’m on holiday!’.  You’ve got 2 WHOLE WEEKS to enjoy yourself.  2 weeks to do this… 2 weeks to do that… it’s going to be great.  And off you go enjoying yourself!  You’ve earned it!A few days in to the holiday, you think ‘this is great!’.  You’re having a lovely time and you’ve really settled in to the holiday groove.  Even better, though, you’ve still got a week and a half to go.  Brilliant!  You go off and carry on enjoying yourself.

Half Way In…

The next thing you realise, you’re half way through your holiday.  You’ve had a superb 1st week and you’ve still got a week to go.  It feels like you’ve been on holiday for ages and you’ve STILL got a week to go.  What a lovely holiday!

But Then…

The 2nd week flies by.  Before you know it, you’re checking in at the airport to come home.  ‘Where did that 2nd week go?’, you think to yourself.  You’ve had a great time but, goodness, that 2nd week went quick!Are you over 40 or 45 ~(or, perhaps, much older)?  If you are, you’re well in to your 2nd week.  It’s going mightily fast isn’t it?!  In fact, it seems as though it’s speeding up!  The older we get, the faster time seems to slip by.  Not sure what the reason for this is but I’m pretty sure it feels like that to most people.

Looking Back…

What memories do you have of your younger years that are still vivid in your mind.  Like it happened yesterday?  Remember, for example, all the hullabaloo over the turn of the millennium.  That was nearly 20 years ago!  If you have children, you know how quickly they grow up.  It’s scary.I turned 50 in June.  I went on a round world travelling escapade when I was 24 for 15 months.  A superb experience and one of the best things I’ve ever done with my life.  My memories of it are like they happened yesterday but, wow, I got back 25 years ago!

Seize the Day…

Mark Twain said:  ‘Twenty years from now, you’ll be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the things you did do’.  Very well said, Mr Twain.  We all know he’s probably right but it’s up to us to take heed and act on this sobering statement.What is it that YOU want to do before it’s TOO LATE?  Are you carrying on doing a job you’d rather see the back of?  ‘I’ll retire when I’m 60… or 65… or 67… or NEVER!’  If you’re already retired, are there things you’d love to do but you just haven’t got round to doing them?  If you’re reading this, you’re probably in your 2nd week, I know I am!We all get caught in the trap of ‘when I have more money’ or ‘when I get to (insert age)’ or ‘when my pensions and savings are worth (insert amount)’.  There’s loads of reasons to put things off but are these legitimate reasons or delaying tactics?  Changing your life can be SCARY!

Wake-up!...

Life’s about living.  Life’s about experiences.  Don’t be the richest person in the graveyard.  Who wants that?  What’s the point of being on your deathbed with all the money in the world BUT NO TIME?Look, you probably know all this and I’m sorry if I come across a bit ‘evangelical’ but, in my work, I see too many people regret the fact that they didn’t do more when they had the opportunity to do so.  It’s very sad to see, in fact, I think it’s a tragedy.This is stuff I’m going through as well.  As I said, I’m 50 and I’m in my 2nd week.  Time is zipping past for me as well.  I’m grappling with the same issues you might be but one thing I do know is that I want to die with a whole pile of great memories, experiences and fun under my belt!

Think About It...

All I’m asking you to do is try to find a bit of time to sit back and evaluate things.  What would you change?  How would you change?  Why would you change?  If you’re ‘happy as Larry’ with how you’re living your life then, thanks for reading this far, but this article probably isn’t for you.If, on the other hand, there ARE things you’d like to change, please don’t delay.  Please don’t put it off… perhaps until it’s too late.Speak to you soon…