The Tail End
Tim Urban · 2015
"When you measure your life in events rather than years, you realize you have already consumed the vast majority of your time with the people you love."
We assume we have plenty of time left because we measure life in years. But if you are 30 years old, and you see your parents for one week a year, and they live for 30 more years, you don't have '30 years' left with them. You have exactly 30 weeks.
For the first 18 years of your life, you spend almost every day with your parents. By the time you graduate high school, you have used up roughly 90% of your total in-person time with them. If you only see them on holidays, you are currently in the 'tail end' of your relationship.
What is the core realization of 'The Tail End' regarding time spent with parents?
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The explanation above is written with AI assistance. These are the originals — go to them to check it.
- The Tail EndWait But Why
Compounding
"Small advantages, repeated, become enormous."