“How Long Will It Take?” Vs. “How Long Can I Savor It?”

July 24, 2023

The other day, I was talking with my college friend Jeff, whose athletic spirit has always impressed me. He is pushing his mid-60s, telling me he’s about to embark upon the 250-mile John Muir Trail for an extended hiking and camping trip.

Whoa! I can only imagine what that would be like wearing my post-prostatectomy Depends. Even without the diapers, I can’t imagine it.

Curious about this calendar commitment, I asked Jeff, “How long will it take?” He paused, smiled, and politely corrected me by saying he was approaching this with a different question, “How long can I savor it?” Whoa, again! That’s a whole different perspective and one that got me thinking:

How many parts of my life do I focus on the transactional as opposed to the transformational? In other words:

How will I survive my in-law’s visit?

VS.

What emotions will I improve as a result of my in-laws staying with me?

And as long as I’m asking that question, I might as well go one deeper: How might I look for the upside when my brain habitually focuses on the downside or the problem-solving?

Of course, I ultimately coaxed an answer out of Jeff. He said, “I’ve calculated it will take 24 days but with a soft back-end in my calendar.” Dude, you will not have a soft back-end after hiking 250 miles. LOL.