A Quarter of 2023 Gone

How do you feel about that?

Michelle Okafor
3 min readApr 9, 2023

Today marks the 99th day of 2023, 26.58% of the year is gone. What have you achieved so far? If you were like me, you would ask, why does everything have to be measured so precisely? Some things are better left unmeasured.

I thought so for a long time. Until you realise that you have only 4 000 weeks to live and you jump up at the thought that you are more than halfway through your 4 000 weeks already. That’s me. Maybe you are only a quarter of the way through. That’s good. You have time.

I am talking to the 40-somethings who have not figured out yet what they want out of life. That’s me. I am slowly starting to make progress, but progress is slow. Why did it take me so long to get things figured out? I don’t know. Maybe it will be a smoother ride for you. Whatever it is, don’t stop working on yourself.

I received an Apple watch for my birthday in December last year. When I heard that my husband wanted to buy me one I objected and told him I did not need such an expensive watch. He did not listen to me. Now I can’t live without it. It’s another measuring tool. Why does everything have to be measured?

You want to know if you have been on the couch all day. I know, you kind of know that already. The watch motivates me to get up and move every day. Steps are counted. I know, why the hell? I’m walking anyway.

Especially once you’ve had 40 or so summers, it helps to know that you haven’t moved in 2 days and it’s time to lift that behind from the couch. We don’t live forever, no one does. You want to make your days ahead as pleasant as you can, and it starts with getting off the couch. Living an active lifestyle early on is such an investment in your future. I know that sometimes it doesn’t make sense.

We die every day, for every day some part of life is taken from us. Even when we are still growing, our life is shrinking. We lost our infancy, then childhood, then youth. All our time was lost in the moment of passage, right up to yesterday, and even today is divided with death as it goes by.

Seneca

All of us know people who are struggling with their health. All of us know older people. It’s not easy to have a daily struggle to just get out of bed and be pain-free. It’s not very pleasant. You can delay it by practising healthy habits now. Invest in yourself. No one else will.

You want to be a healthy parent to your kids as they get older. You don’t want to be a burden. You don’t want them to contemplate putting you in a home because you can’t take care of yourself. I know it seems far off, for me too. But let’s not fool ourselves. Life is short.

It’s never too late to start. Start today. Your future self will thank you for it.

Blessings,

Michelle

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Michelle Okafor
Michelle Okafor

Written by Michelle Okafor

Writer of short, inspirational pieces. Make the most of your time here, for we pass this way only once. See the good in yourself and others.

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