When did life become something you just have to get through?

Because your life isn't waiting for you on the other side of your to-do list.

I caught myself saying it recently: “I just need to get through this week.”

Nothing particularly terrible was happening. It was simply busy. Work, commitments, people needing things, places to be, things I hadn’t quite got around to doing. The usual stuff of life.But afterwards, I thought about what I’d said.

Get through it.

This was a week of my life. Seven days I would never get back. And I had just reduced them to something I needed to survive until Friday.

It made me wonder: when did life become something we just have to get through?

I'll feel better when...

Maybe you recognise it too.

I’ll feel better when work calms down. When the children go back to school. When the house is sorted. When I’ve lost the weight. When I’m sleeping better. When I’ve got more energy. When we get to the holiday.

We become very good at placing our lives somewhere in the future.

Everyone seems busy. Everyone seems tired. Everyone seems to be juggling too much. So we put our heads down and keep going.

Monday becomes something to survive until Friday. A difficult period becomes something to endure until it’s over.And somewhere amongst all that getting through, we forget we’re supposed to be living it.

"There will always be another email, another appointment, another load of washing, another person who needs something. If we’re waiting for everything to be finished before we allow ourselves to live, we could be waiting a very long time."

What if things don't calm down?

I think many of us have a quiet agreement with ourselves: I’ll look after myself when things calm down.

I’ll start exercising again. I’ll get outside more. I’ll call that friend. I’ll book the trip. I’ll make time for myself.

Just… not yet. Because first, we need to finish everything else. But what if things don’t calm down?

Life has a habit of replacing one thing with another. The deadline disappears and something else takes its place. One busy period ends and another begins. The diary clears and somehow fills itself again.

There will always be another email, another appointment, another load of washing, another person who needs something. If we’re waiting for everything to be finished before we allow ourselves to live, we could be waiting a very long time.

This isn't about escapig your life

Real life has responsibilities. There are jobs to do, people to care for, bills to pay and homes to run. Sometimes life genuinely is hard.

But perhaps we have more choice than we realise about how present we are while it’s happening.

Because life isn’t only the big moments. It’s not just the holiday, the wedding, the promotion or the moment when everything finally falls into place.

Life is the coffee with someone you love. The walk you nearly didn’t take. Feeling the sun on your face. Laughing until your stomach hurts. Putting music on while you cook. Sitting outside for ten minutes doing absolutely nothing useful.

We treat these things as though they’re the little bits around life. But they are life.

Maybe we've got strength wrong too

At quietStrength, I don’t think strength is simply about lifting heavier weights. It’s about having a body that allows you to participate in your life: to walk, travel, explore, laugh, move freely and keep doing the things you love for as long as possible.

That’s what looking after your body is really about: being here for your life.

As we get older, we realise how quickly the years pass. We can be busy looking after everyone else and still miss our own lives.

The ordinary moments may one day be the ones we’d give anything to have back.

A quietSrength thought

Maybe you don’t need to fit more into your life. Maybe you simply need to stop postponing yourself.

Move your body. Rest when you need to. Take the walk. Notice the moments that are already here.

Your life isn’t waiting for you on the other side of your to-do list. It’s happening now.

So ask yourself: How do I want to live while I’m here?