The Perfect Moment: Timing Your Life Choices

Time is an illusion – Albert Einstein

These scenarios never cease to amaze me; yes, they probably hold for any average human and are controlled by three variables: Time, Money, and Age.

When you are young (in this case, young can range from the elementary school years to the campus years), you have fairly unlimited time to do whatever you desire but are unduly constrained by resources (read, money).

When you start working and throughout your working life, you are somehow financially unshackled. You get enough money to meet your needs from paycheck to paycheck. You retain a heap of youthful strength. However, you are constrained by limited time.

As you age and reach retirement years, you regain more time for friends and family. You have a retirement package to sustain you. But, your youthful energy has gradually waned over the years. It is now replaced by cracking bones and squeaking joints. 

I am particularly interested in the second scenario. Most of my current audience are young professionals, trying to get a footing in their budding careers.

Time becomes such a scarce resource as one transitions into the adulting stage of life.

What I find most ironic is that 24 hours, a resource given equally to everyone on earth by Providence, never seems enough. It’s no wonder a moniker has been coined here in Kenya saying, “Mambo ni mengi, lakini masaa ni machache,” which loosely translated, means, “There’s a lot to do but the time available is limited.” 

Building on what we discussed last week under the theme: The Paradox of Ambition. We identified Solomon the Philosopher’s stark observation. He stated, “Virtually everything in life is decided by chance, by being at the right place at the right time.”

Expressed differently, being at the right place at the right time is the key to ‘success.’ The ancient Greeks called such a moment ‘Kairos,’ which meant the opportune or right time. But how do you even begin to figure that out?

Well, conventional wisdom, or so-called ‘best practices, ‘ attempts to guide us on when to spot this perfect time. They suggest staying in one organization for at least 3-5 progressive years before switching jobs. Before you marry or get married, they advise being at least 25 years old. This ensures maturity. Before committing funds to a particular investment, they recommend conducting a detailed SWOT analysis.

The list is endless. Yet, even these guidelines fall short. Rigidly following all of them could jeopardize one’s success prospects. Flexibility is important at some points in time.

Hence begs the question: Should we spend the scarce time we have pursuing that perfect moment in life? When all our stars will perfectly align, and all our dreams and wishes come true? When we finally get the perfect man/woman, the perfect dream house, the perfect job, the perfect time to start a business, et cetera? Again, will ‘lady-luck’ actually find everyone on earth, or is she just reserved for a few ‘lucky’ individuals?

To all these, I answer: I don’t know. But I’ll tell you what I know, believe, and try to practice:

Heartily and ungrudgingly, do the duty that lies nearest you as you wait for that perfect job.

Use the little capital you have to begin a small business as you wait to make your perfect pitch to think tank investors and business angels. Practice benevolence using your little resources while waiting for the perfect moment when you’ll gift hundreds of thousands or millions to philanthropy and those in need. Endeavor to eat a simple healthy diet as you wait for the perfect time when you’ll finally dine on ‘sumptuous meals.’ Make your little house livable and enviable as you wait to inhabit the perfect dream house. 

I am not a prophet of doom, but death sometimes robs us of the opportunity to experience the ‘perfect moment.’ Yet even if it happens, there’ll be no regrets. We will have lived and thrived. We won’t have merely existed and survived. Equally, from my limited experience, I know seldom instances when the opportune time came at the first attempt.

Therefore, keep trying, keep hoping, keep waiting and keep trusting that the Father of Lights above will grant your petitions if you remain perseverant.

Purpose to join me next week for the final episode in the series as I discuss the theme: The Paradox of Money. Till then, cheers good people to a week and a lifetime characterized by wisdom, endurance, and perseverance.