A reflection on time, loss, and what one hour can mean
There are 24 hours in a day.
And most of them… just pass us by.
We scroll. We multitask. We say “I’m so busy” and mean it.
We wish hours away for the weekend, for vacation, for someday.
And then they’re gone.
But every now and then, an hour reminds you just how precious it really is.
Memento Mori and the Jeopardy Tool
There’s a phrase I’ve come back to over and over again the last few years:
Memento Mori.
Remember you will die.
It’s not meant to be morbid.
It’s meant to be clarifying.
A way to see time—not as this endless stretch of someday—but as something active.
Alive.
Running out.
And that brings me to a tool I’ve found gut-level helpful in this season—something I first came across in The Tools by Phil Stutz and Barry Michaels.
It’s called Jeopardy.
Here’s how it works:
You picture a version of yourself—older, closer to the end—looking back on the moment you’re in right now.
This hour. This day.
And that version of you is pleading:
“Don’t waste this.”
“You don’t get this hour again.”
“Use it. While you still can.”
It’s not meant to shame.
It’s meant to ignite.
To snap you out of autopilot and back into the very real, very limited, very sacred resource of now.
I try to picture that version of myself sometimes.
Especially when I’m tired. Or tempted to coast.
He usually has kind eyes. But he doesn’t let me off the hook.
And honestly, I’m grateful for that.
The Hour You’d Give Anything For
Think about someone you’ve lost.
Someone you love deeply—who’s no longer here.
Now imagine you could have one more hour with them.
Just sixty minutes.
No distractions.
No rush.
What would that hour be worth to you?
What would you do differently just to be present for it?
Most of us would give anything to have that hour back.
That thought alone has changed the way I view time.
Because the hour I’m in right now?
It is someone’s “one more.”
And maybe someday, it’ll be mine too.
This Is Why We Honor the Hour
Most people don’t think of the hour they spend at the gym as sacred time.
But honestly? Maybe we should.
Because for a lot of people:
- It’s the hour they finally focus on their body instead of a screen
- It’s the hour they get to breathe, move, and feel like themselves again
- It’s the hour where someone actually looks them in the eye and calls them by name
- It’s the hour that reminds them they’re alive and capable
At CrossFit Northland, we Honor the Hour.
Not because we think workouts are magical.
But because people are.
And when someone gives us one of their 24—we want to give them something real in return.
For Me, This Means…
- I try to arrive early—not just physically, but mentally
- I take a breath before coaching to remember what this is really about
- I assume someone in that class might be carrying grief, or stress, or fatigue I’ll never know about
- And I do my best to make that hour something they’ll remember as time well spent
Maybe not perfect.
But present.
And purposeful.
Something they’ll look forward to.
Something they’ll miss if it’s gone.
Something that matters.
One Last Prompt
Sometime this week—maybe even now—ask yourself this:
Who would you give anything to spend one more hour with?
Then let that memory remind you of something else:
Who do you get to spend an hour with today?
Time is never guaranteed.
But this hour—right now—is still yours to honor.
Let’s choose to make it count.