Complete This Sentence: Life’s Too Short To…
by Jonathan Fields | 06/27/08
How would you finish it?
The question arose the other day, when talking with a friend about setting aside a fair amount of time to just play, goof around and enjoy the people around you.
His comment to me was “life’s too short to screw around all the time.”
And, my reply was, “life’s too short to NOT screw around all the time.” Most people bottle up a lifetime’s worth of play on the promise that later in life, if they make it that far, remain as physically and mentally able as they are now, THEN it’s finally time to play.
My friend responded, “if you spend all that time messing around, you never get the important stuff done.”
My response to this was, “first, messing around IS the important stuff, at least a part of it, but I also get more of what he’d consider the “real’ stuff done in a given day that the vast majority of people I know BECAUSE I swing between bursts of play or relaxation and ultra-intense bursts of hyper-efficient work…which is enabled by the fact that I’ve been playing between them.
So, what do you guys think about this question?
And, even more importantly, in the bigger scheme of your life,
How would you finish this sentence: “Life’s too short to…”
It could relate to anything or everything, doesn’t have to be what I was talking about above. Just think about it in the context of your own life, then…
Complete sentence and share your thoughts below…
P.S. - the photo above is the view from my patio at sunset…where I just zoned out for a half hour with my wife and daughter…doing absolutely nothing useful beyond watching the sun go down.
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39 comments
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June 27th, 2008 | 9:22 am
Life is too short to… waste climbing the corporate ladder.
June 27th, 2008 | 9:27 am
Life is too short to spend time doing a job you hate.
June 27th, 2008 | 9:34 am
Thanks for this question. Very Timely.
Life is too short to… Spend Time Beating Yourself Up About Your Mistakes.
Learn, Remember (When Needed) and Move On.
June 27th, 2008 | 9:35 am
…not make mistakes.
Mistakes make us better. They help us to improve. Perfection is overrated.
June 27th, 2008 | 9:38 am
Saw your post on Twitter and had to respond. It’s the beginning of my slogan for my cake baking business. Life’s too short to eat bad cake!
June 27th, 2008 | 9:44 am
…not love with our whole heart.
June 27th, 2008 | 9:52 am
[...] Go to the author’s original blog: Complete This Sentence: Life’s Too Short To… [...]
June 27th, 2008 | 10:05 am
…not go for opportunities when they are presented.
June 27th, 2008 | 10:07 am
Love it, gang! Though, not everything he wrote resonates with me, Soren Keirkegaard said “life must be understood backwards…but it must be lived forward.”
That thought has always been a powerful guide for me, with the added understanding that forwards also integrates “now.”
June 27th, 2008 | 10:52 am
waste.
June 27th, 2008 | 11:43 am
to sit all day in fron of your pc
June 27th, 2008 | 11:54 am
spend too much time worrying about stuff.
or
to not spend on Jonathan’s patio! Beautiful.
June 27th, 2008 | 1:17 pm
life’s to short to give up on the one you love
(^^
June 27th, 2008 | 1:21 pm
Lifes too short to live by other peoples rules
June 27th, 2008 | 1:33 pm
Life’s too short to not take chances.
Life’s too short to forget to dance.
Life’s too short to not try new things.
June 27th, 2008 | 1:34 pm
Life’s too short to … spend time worrying about life being too short.
June 27th, 2008 | 1:39 pm
lifes too short to get annoyed at other peoples shortcomings
June 27th, 2008 | 2:03 pm
life is too short to live a mediocre life.
June 27th, 2008 | 2:41 pm
Life’s too short–so always pretend today could be your last–and live accordingly.
June 27th, 2008 | 2:43 pm
Life’s too short to not be with your loved ones, ALL the time!
June 27th, 2008 | 3:21 pm
Life’s too short to live in the past.
June 27th, 2008 | 3:23 pm
Life’s too short to waste time reading this blog.
Haha, just kidding. I love you Jonathan!
June 27th, 2008 | 3:59 pm
Life’s to short to…
live in the past or the future.
Life’s to short… that’s why we should enjoy the NOW. That is all that we got!
Thank you!
June 27th, 2008 | 4:02 pm
Life’s too short to give up Now…
June 27th, 2008 | 4:03 pm
Wow Viola and I think alot alike…
June 27th, 2008 | 4:46 pm
Life’s too short to:
- stay in a job you hate. (I was laid off from Dell last Thursday. Thank you universe, thank you.)
- spend your time fulfilling someone else’s dream.
- ignore your gut instinct.
June 27th, 2008 | 5:16 pm
Complete This Sentence: Life’s Too Short To..
Read blogs about life being too short.
What am I doing here then?
I have no idea. More importantly, who am I talking to?
June 27th, 2008 | 6:13 pm
I think a lot like you, Jonathan. Life is too short to not have fun every day.
June 27th, 2008 | 6:36 pm
I haven’t read everyone’s comments yet because I wanted to see what I came up with first. I have a few. Life’s too short to…
1. Live the life someone else wants you to live.
2. Keep up with Mr. and Mrs. Jones.
3. Stay in a loveless relationship.
4. Stay angry.
5. Avoid taking chances.
6. Put off telling someone you love them.
7. Value responsibility more than fun.
Jonathan, I’m with you… there’s a time and place for everything. I think we should all enjoy being naughty from time to time! Thanks for the post.
June 27th, 2008 | 9:34 pm
Life’s too short to watch other people dance.
June 27th, 2008 | 10:12 pm
Life’s too short to say no to chocolate!
June 28th, 2008 | 10:38 am
Life’s to short to hold onto resentments.
@me: also the happiest day of my life getting laid off from Fortune 100 company.
June 29th, 2008 | 5:48 am
Life’s too short to finish other people’s sentences. Live your own life.
June 29th, 2008 | 6:34 am
@ Everyone - love all the wonderful responses gang! Now, follow-up question…
Is the way you’re living your life in sync with the way you answered the question?
July 1st, 2008 | 6:44 am
That’s awesome how you took that photo yourself, I thought it was just something random from Google. I agree, you need to enjoy life all the way through, not just at retirement, which is when you’re old and can’t do a lot of things anyway.
July 1st, 2008 | 11:23 am
Life’s too short to:
…not do what you love
…waste time gossiping
…stay at a job that you hate
July 2nd, 2008 | 8:16 pm
Hold Grudges
not HUG your friends & family :-)(((())))
July 9th, 2008 | 5:12 am
Life is too short for love. i dont know how people find time too hate
July 12th, 2008 | 3:26 pm
Life’s too short to chase material stuff.
And on the other hand, life’s too long to go without indulgences.