The Brutal Math of Your Life

Are You Wasting Your Time or Making It Count?

There’s a ticking clock hanging over your head. You can’t see it, but it’s there. Counting down. Tick. Tock. I don’t say this to be dramatic—okay, maybe a little—but because most people walk around like they’ve got an infinite supply of time. They don’t. Tú tampoco.

Some motivational guru might tell you to maximize every second, but let’s be real. You and I both know that’s bullshit. No one spends every moment wisely. We doom-scroll, get stuck in awful conversations, work jobs we hate, and tell ourselves we’ll start writing that book mañana.

How do you actually measure your life? What makes it worth a damn? And more importantly, how do you avoid looking back and realizing you spent decades chasing things that didn’t matter?

The Stupid Shit We Use to Measure Life

People measure their lives in all sorts of pendejadas. Let’s break down some of the dumbest ways people try to convince themselves they’re winning at life:

1. The Money Counter

Ah, yes. The classic. Stack paper. Get rich. Retire early. Live happily ever after except… no.

I’ve known people with real money—seven, eight figures, the kind of cash that should buy happiness on paper—and guess what? Many of them are miserable as fuck.

They trade their best years for cash, only to realize that they still wake up feeling empty. Because here’s the ugly truth: money can buy comfort, but can’t buy meaning. And the richer you get, the harder it becomes to find people who actually give a shit about you and not your bank account.

Now, before you say, “But Gabe, money is important!”—yeah, no shit. I’m not saying don’t make money. I’m saying don’t measure your entire life by it.

2. The Success Scoreboard

This one’s sneaky because it feels deep. People tell themselves, I’ll be successful, and that will give my life meaning.

Great. But what kind of success? And according to whom?

If you’re a writer (like me), maybe success means landing a book deal or building a massive audience. But what happens when you get there and realize it didn’t fix whatever was broken inside you?

I know people who have hit their dream goals only to feel more lost than ever. Why? Because they thought achievement was the endgame, but all it did was move the goalposts.

3. The People Pleaser Counter

This one’s the saddest. Some people measure their lives by how much they’re liked. They say yes to everything. They avoid conflict. They make themselves small just to fit into spaces that don’t deserve them.

If that’s you, stop it. Because here’s a harsh truth: if your life is measured by how much people approve of you, then it’s not your life—it’s theirs.

So, What Actually Matters?

If money, success, and approval don’t cut it, then what does?

I had to think hard about this. And after years of writing, failing, rebuilding, and figuring out what I care about, I landed on three real ways to measure your life.

1. The Shit-You-Gave-a-Damn-About Scale

Forget your bank account. Forget your résumé. Ask yourself: What did I care about so much that I was willing to fight for?

That’s a real measurement.

It doesn’t have to be some world-changing mission. Maybe it’s your art. Maybe it’s your family. Maybe it’s standing up for people who can’t stand up for themselves. But if you don’t care deeply about something, then what the hell are you doing here?

2. The Regret-O-Meter

This one’s simple: if your future self time-traveled back to today, would they slap the shit out of you?

Seriously. Imagine yourself 20 years from now. Are they saying, Good job, kid. You really went for it, or are they shaking their head like, Dude… seriously? THIS is how you spent your time?

Most people don’t ask this question because it forces them to confront uncomfortable truths. They don’t want to admit that they’re playing small, wasting time, or living on autopilot.

But guess what? You don’t get a do-over. You only get one shot at this life. And if you don’t ask yourself the hard questions now, you’ll be forced to answer them later, when it’s too late to change.

3. The “Did You Really Live?” Test

At the end of it all, there’s just one real question: Did you actually live, or did you just exist?

Existing is easy. You wake up, go to work, watch some Netflix, repeat.

Living? That’s different. Living means taking risks. It means loving hard even when it scares you. It means putting your work out there, even if people shit on it. It means standing up for what you believe in, even if it makes you unpopular.

If you’re not doing those things, then what the fuck are you waiting for?

Final Thought: What Are You Really Counting?

Look, I get it. It’s easier to measure life in dollars, trophies, and social media likes. But that’s a cheap way to live.

If you want to measure your life in a way that matters, start with this:

• What do you give a damn about?

• Will your future self be proud of you?

• Are you really living, or just existing?

You answer those honestly, and you won’t need some bullshit metric to tell you if your life is worth it. You’ll know.

And if you don’t like the answer? Change it. Because time is running out, cabrón.

Tick. Tock.

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