Regardless of how old you are, when you look back, does it seem like your life has happened in a flash? In particular, do those years of hustle and grind, of juggling careers, kids, courses, and mortgage payments, feel like an indistinct blur?

It turns out the saying, “Life is short,” is true.

I recently listened to a podcast featuring Dr. Karl Padilla. He is a professor of gerontology who studies how personal growth occurs over a lifetime. He has interviewed thousands of people in their eighties, nineties, and older, discussing their families and careers, joys and regrets. His biggest takeaway from all this research? Live your life as if you knew it was short.

A younger person who adopts a “life is short” philosophy could find their larger life decisions impacted in a positive way. Would the awareness of limited time impact their choice to stay in an unfulfilling job or an unhealthy relationship? The problem is–no one understands how short life is until they are old. “Too late schmart,” as they say.

For years I have made the claim that I will live to be 108 and I’m only partly joking. I have good reason to believe this is possible; my father was 96 when he died, his brother was 98 and my mother’s sister was 92. Trust me when I say I take way better care of myself than any of those three did. I have lived my life as if I have all the time in the world because I have felt like I did: “Tra-la-la, there’s always next year.”

Having recently enjoyed a “big” birthday, I’m starting to think a little differently.

If I can safely assume I have at least another decade, my agenda sharpens considerably to two questions; What am I going to create? What would I like to do? The to-do list is the external fun things, like travel. Creating is the internal journey. If I think of life being short, then the lens through which I view my time sharpens. My decisions are changing as I’m typing this. “Tra-la-la” becomes “Make a plan, smart one.”

Keep your joy.

Anne Milne is an every Sunday blogger, unless it’s a holiday weekend. Or summertime.