The multiple life theory

The average life expectancy of a human being can be around 70 years depending on where you are born and then where you end up living. But let's take 70 as the number.

Now let's take the first 30 years of your life for figuring out things in your life. It takes different amounts of time for everyone but I guess by 30 most people are settled in a certain way whether they like it or not.

Now if you think of the next 40 years in 10-year increments you can basically live 4 different lives. You can pursue 4 different things in those 4 blocks of 10 years. Each year do something different and master something new. Now if you consider the first 30 a different life, you have then lived 5 different lives in one life.

What do I mean by lives? I mean a life committed to doing a particular thing. The first 30 years include education and then finally getting a job. Doing that particular job. But the next 4 blocks of 10 years are in your control. One of those blocks can be being a musician, next one an athlete, next one a writer, and another can be a restaurant owner. These are just some examples. You don't have to live 4 but you can definitely experiment with one or two.

Firstly let's talk about why this sounds weird. Unnatural or a bit stupid.
Because most children growing up face the question of what do they want to be. And in the majority of the cases, it means one answer. One career path. One life to live. That's the norm. You choose to be a doctor, engineer, programmer, etc. And you are set for life. Now there's certainly nothing wrong with living that life. But the problem is most people don't get exposed to the alternative. Take this example from the book “Flow”:
”The process of discovering new goals in life is in many respects similar to that by which an artist goes about creating an original work of art. Whereas a conventional artist starts painting a canvas knowing what she wants to paint and holds to her original intention until the work is finished, an original artist with equal technical training commences with a deeply felt but undefined goal in mind, keeps modifying the picture in response to the unexpected colors and shapes emerging on the canvas, and ends up with a finished work that probably will not resemble anything she started out with. If the artist is responsive to her inner feelings, knows what she likes and does not like, and pays attention to what is happening on the canvas, a good painting is bound to emerge. On the other hand, if she holds on to a preconceived notion of what the painting should look like, without responding to the possibilities suggested by the forms developing before her, the painting is likely to be trite. We all start with preconceived notions of what we want from life. These include the basic needs programmed by our genes to ensure survival—the need for food, comfort, sex, dominance over other beings. They also include the desires that our specific culture has inculcated in us—to be slim, rich, educated, and well-liked. If we embrace these goals and are lucky, we may replicate the ideal physical and social image for our historical time and place. But is this the best use of our psychic energy? And what if we cannot realize these ends? We will never become aware of other possibilities unless, like the painter who watches with care what is happening on the canvas, we pay attention to what is happening around us, and evaluate events on the basis of their direct impact on how we feel, rather than evaluating them exclusively in terms of preconceived notions.”-Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Since we are exposed to these preconceived notions we keep holding onto the one life goal. Just because it isn't the norm doesn't mean you can't do it. You can definitely live multiple lives.

Secondly, let's look at who can afford this luxury. Yes, it's definitely a luxury in many cases.

The main criteria is to be lucky and privileged enough to get a good enough education. Location is also important but education is the main requirement here. If you get educated, living in this era of the Internet, the possibilities are endless. So if you have that privilege and you can pursue this lifestyle. But there are other variables that will impact you. Some are within your control while others aren't.

Finally, let's talk about the sacrifices of such a lifestyle. Such a lifestyle might seem impossible and also seem really lucrative. But there are definitely sacrifices to make.

The first sacrifice and an important one is financial stability. If you keep on living different lives in many cases you won't ever the financial stability of someone pursuing one single path. While his income has compounding effect you are switching every decade. Of course, if you plan your life well you can too get that stability but it's hard when you pursue that life. So keep in mind that money will be a bother but it will only bother you if you let it. In most of those lives, you will have your needs covered but in some lives, you might not have the luxury of buying that Tesla.

The second sacrifice is about not being understood by society. Whatever society you end up living most people won't understand why you are doing whatever you are doing. You might have a hard time maintaining a family or keeping a family. Unless you are understood it will be tough. You will be criticized a lot more for changing careers so much. You do need a lot of mental toughness. You also need a partner who understands your journey. In the case of what society thinks if you have mastered the subtle art of not giving a f*ck then ignore them easily. But the sacrifice of your relationship with your friends and family is important. Some people will get you while others won’t.

The third sacrifice. Not actually a sacrifice but it's more about the hard work you would need to maintain your health. If you want to live these different lives and you plan on switching and learning new things you have to be disciplined about your health. You have to put in the hard work to stay healthy. But this I guess is the same for any regular person but most people find it hard to dedicate time to their health.

With all that being said how do you start living such a lifestyle. It's pretty simple but hard to execute. You need to know yourself. You need to come to the realization that the traditional lifestyle is not for you. You need to understand what you are getting into and you need to make a plan. The sooner you make this decision the more lives you can live. I talked about life after 30 but if you get this realization early you can definitely start early and try different lives.

Btw the reason I say increments of 10 years is because of the 10,000-hour rule. Made popular by Gladwell's book, Outliers: The Story of Success, the principle states that in order to become world-class in any field, you need 10,000 hours of deliberate practice. This means 417 days' worth of hours, or 3 hours a day for 3,333 days--a little over 9 years. So considering this I say 10 years. But it can definitely be more or less. If you are talented in something which comes naturally to you then that particular life can be lived quicker and you can move to the next life.

The lives I talk about are mostly talking about learning something new. Because as we grow older we tend to stop learning and it has a very bad impact on our physical and mental health. The more we keep on learning and the more we challenge ourself the more we give life to our mental and physical selves. That is why the basis of my lives here is learning. There can be no end to learning and the end of learning is the end of you.