The average life expectancy in the UK is 81.2 years. But for the sake of a neat illustration let’s round it down to 80.
If this 8×10 grid represents those 80 years then every small square represents a year of your life. How many of the squares would you shade in to represent your age?
I’m 46 so here’s what mine looks like (on the left of the grid). How many white squares are left?
Now consider how much sleep you need? Well, I need about 8 hours to function properly so that’s 1/3rd of the remaining squares gone (see the shaded boxes on the right hand side).
That leaves me with 23 waking years left!
Focuses the mind eh!
Some people have said “oh god Alan. That’s depressing!” or “it’s the death grid!!”
Depends on the way you look at it. I call it the LIFE grid! People always say to make the most of your life and that’s what this is designed to do. To light a fire under you that says “get bloody moving!”. In that great film The Shawshank Redemption Andy Dufresne says “get busy living or get busy dying”.
How true!
PS. my wish for you is that you live a happy, healthy and meaningful life to the age of 100.
