Time will pass anyway

Life is a little like a game.

There are rules we do not choose, players who come and go, goals we define along the way, and decisions that, little by little, end up shaping our path.

It is also like a card game.

Each of us is dealt a different hand.

Some people start with extraordinary cards: opportunities, resources, connections, stability, talent, a family that encourages them.

Others start with much less.

And some seem to be dealt, from the very beginning, a deeply unfair hand.

We cannot choose the cards we start with.

But we can learn how to play them.

Because having a good hand does not guarantee that you will win. Some people start with an advantage, become overconfident, and end up wasting opportunities that others would have given anything to have.

And there are people who start with very little, but they observe, learn, prepare themselves, wait for the right moment, and end up going farther than anyone thought possible.

Attitude matters.

Preparation matters.

Decisions matter.

Patience matters.

And very often, the ability to try again matters even more.

But we are not merely rational beings calculating our next moves.

We also need to feel that our lives mean something. We search for purpose.

We ask ourselves whether what we do makes us happy, whether we are living the way we truly want to live, or simply following the path that seemed safest.

And while we think, doubt, plan, and decide, something keeps moving without ever stopping: time.

Perhaps that is the most important element of all.

Because the game is not infinite.

One day, it ends.

And when we look back, we probably will not judge our lives only by what we achieved. We will also remember what we tried. The times we dared. The decisions we made even when we were afraid. The people we loved. The places we discovered. The opportunities we accepted. The mistakes we made.

And the times when, even without knowing exactly what would happen, we chose to play our hand. Someone may have held all the cards needed to win and never dared to use them. And someone else may have been dealt a terrible hand and still chosen to play until the very end.

Perhaps there is another kind of victory in that.

Not necessarily getting everything we wanted, but being able to look back and know that we were truly present in our own lives.

That is why:

Study. It is never too late. Time will pass anyway.

Change jobs. Time will pass anyway.

Change careers. Time will pass anyway.

Live, at least once, in that city you have always dreamed about. Time will pass anyway.

Leave that relationship. Time will pass anyway.

Start a family. Time will pass anyway.

Live on your own. Time will pass anyway.

Send that message. Time will pass anyway.

Tell them you love them. Time will pass anyway.

Take that trip. Time will pass anyway.

Take that risk. Time will pass anyway.

Say what you think. Time will pass anyway.

Take care of your mind. Take care of your body. Time will pass anyway.

Treat yourself without feeling guilty. Time will pass anyway.

Learn something new. Time will pass anyway.

Start your own company. Time will pass anyway.

Save for the future. Time will pass anyway.

Give that hug.

Step onto that stage.

Enter that competition.

Take that opportunity.

Dare to say no (or yes).

Make mistakes. Once. Twice. As many times as necessary.

Because even while you are afraid to do it, the clock keeps moving.

Five years from now, you will be five years older whether you started or not. Ten years from now, ten years will have passed whether you pursued what you wanted or chose to postpone it.

Time never asks us whether we are ready.

We cannot control all the cards. We cannot control the other players. We cannot change many of the rules. And we cannot stop the game from eventually ending.

But as long as we still have cards in our hands, we can still play.

The sad thing is not that time passes. Time was always going to pass. What would truly be sad is reaching the end and discovering that, because we were afraid of losing, we never allowed ourselves to play. That because we were afraid of making mistakes, we never chose. That while waiting for the perfect moment, we let all those imperfect moments in which we could also have been happy pass us by.

Life doesn't need to be perfect to be worth living. It just needs us to be present in it, whether we dare, succeed, or fail.

And to begin again if necessary.

Because time will pass anyway.