Truth #46 of 100
THE WATCH
“Time is the only resource equally given to everyone and equally taken away from everyone. You can spend it wisely or waste it carelessly, but you can never store it for later.”
There is a reason watches don’t have a pause button. Because life doesn’t either. Every second that passes is spent whether you notice it or not.
The watch on the table doesn’t care about your excuses.
It doesn’t slow down when you’re afraid.
It doesn’t stop when you’re heartbroken.
It doesn’t wait until you’re ready.
It just keeps moving.
Tick.
Tick.
Tick.
When I was younger, I thought time was something I had plenty of.
Most of us do.
We spend years waiting for the right moment.
The right opportunity.
The right circumstances.
The right version of ourselves.
And before we know it, years have slipped through our fingers while we were busy planning a life we never started living.
The older I get, the more I realize that time is the most valuable thing any of us will ever own.
Not money.
Not possessions.
Not status.
Time.
Because money can be earned again.
Things can be replaced.
But not a single second comes back once it’s gone.
I’ve stood beside hospital beds.
I’ve buried people I loved.
I’ve watched seasons of life end without warning.
And every one of those moments taught the same lesson:
The watch never stops.
Which means neither should we.
Tell the people you love that you love them.
Take the trip.
Start the business.
Write the book.
Make the phone call.
Forgive the person.
Become the person you’ve been putting off becoming.
Because one day, every watch runs out of time.
And when that day comes, nobody wishes they had spent more hours worrying.
Nobody wishes they had waited longer.
Nobody wishes they had lived less.
They wish they had lived more.
— Mickey Trivett