I saw Mel Robbins live in Melbourne recently. And she flipped the script on something I’ve been talking about for years.
You might know the 4,000 weeks concept – I talk about it in my TEDx Talk. If we’re lucky enough to live to 80, that’s all we get – 4,000 weeks.
It’s a powerful wake-up call. A butt-clench moment, if you will.
But here’s what we don’t always talk about.
That kind of urgency only takes you so far.
The Pain Motivator – Rocket Fuel That Burns Out
The 4,000 weeks concept – and the “live every day like it’s your last” mindset – taps into our pain motivator. It’s the part of us that moves away from discomfort, from urgency, from the fear of running out of time.
And that’s powerful.
Think about it – you feel terrible after a big weekend of eating and you drag yourself to the gym. You had a horrible conversation with your boss and you finally update your resume. Pain is rocket fuel. It gets us moving.
But it only takes us so far.
And if we’re only operating from that place, it becomes exhausting. It creates pressure, panic, and overwhelm.
That’s not the full picture.
The Flip Side – Look at How Much Time You Still Have
What Mel showed us in Melbourne was the same 4,000 weeks concept presented differently. Instead of focusing on how little time we have left – she asked us to look at how much time we still have.
That’s the pleasure motivator.
Moving towards something we want, not just away from something we fear. It’s what keeps us going after the initial rocket fuel burns out.
We get off the couch because we feel gross – that’s pain. We keep going back to the gym because we start to feel incredible, we have a goal to feel confident in our swimmers, we want to show up as our best self – that’s pleasure.
Both have a role.
Neither works as well without the other.
It’s never too late. Whether you’re 20, 40, 60 or beyond – you have so much life yet to live. And when we’re in the middle of a hard season, it can feel like the pain will last forever. But it won’t. That’s one of the most important things to hold onto.
Finding Moments of Awe
So if the purpose of “live every day like it’s your last” is to be present – what actually gets us there?
Awe.
The definition of awe is an overwhelming sense of admiration, wonder, and inspiration triggered by something vast, majestic or powerful. And here’s the thing – it doesn’t have to be huge.
I was watching hot air balloons drift across the Melbourne city skyline recently . I wasn’t expecting it. And it stopped me completely in my tracks it was so mesmerising. This turned into an unexpected moment of awe that had a ripple affect on the rest of my day
It could be putting your hand on a tree and actually looking up at it for a minute. Lying on the ground and cloud gazing. Watching a loved one sleep. Live music. A walk. A view. Technology. The planetarium. A wild documentary can also take us to a place of awe.
Moments of awe are within reach every single day. They pull us out of our heads and into our lives.
And right now, more than ever, we need that.
Stop Thinking So Much
Here’s the other thing that landed hard for me. When we think too much about how we feel about something, it keeps us stuck.
Think about those mornings you don’t want to get out of bed. The more you lie there thinking about how warm and cosy it is, how much you don’t want to get out of bed – the harder it gets.
The same thing plays out in every area of our lives.
The more we think about how scary something is, how far outside our comfort zone it is, how hard that conversation is going to be – the more we talk ourselves out of it.
Sometimes the most powerful thing we can do is stop analysing and just move.
What to Take Away From This
Yes, we need to feel the urgency of our limited time – that pain motivator is important.
But we have to balance it with the truth that we have so much life still ahead of us.
The question I’m sitting with – and I’d invite you to sit with it too:
If nothing changes, where will I be in five years time?
Take a moment with that one. Journal it if you can.
And then find one thing today that leads you into awe. It doesn’t have to be grand. It just has to be real.
To hear more, check out the Smart Business Growth Podcast below.
🍏 Listen on Apple Podcast
🎤 Listen on Spotify Podcast
📺 Watch on my new YouTube channel
And if this resonated – I’d love to hear what landed for you.