Tuesday's Rule #17

Half a decade

Welcome to this week's edition of Tuesday's Rule. A weekly breakdown of a life rule question I've found interesting or useful.

It's the final question in the three-part mini series.

The UK news cycle in 2019 was dominated by one story. 

The General Election (held on 12 December 2019) and the build-up, monopolised media airtime and concluded a tumultuous year in UK politics. 

Let’s remind ourselves of some of the details…

As is typical in a UK election, the two largest parties were Conservative and Labour. Jeremy Corbyn had been Labour leader since 2015, Boris Johnson had become the Tory leader only a few months before the election — 23 July 2019, to be exact. 

Both the Conservative leadership contest and the election itself were dominated by the Brexit argument. 

Theresa May's drawn-out deal was dead on arrival. This led to her resignation and an emotional farewell on the steps of 10 Downing St. 

The following leadership contest had only one winner. Boris Johnson ended with almost twice as many votes as his opponent, Jeremy Hunt, and was named leader of the Tory party and therefore, the Prime Minister. 

Unfortunately, like the Maybot before him, BoJo could not get his revised Brexit bill through Parliament. As a result, he called a snap election and the date was set for December.

That led to two months of campaigning, with Boris using the catchphrase "Get Brexit Done" and Jeremy Corbyn suggesting it was "Time For Real Change."

Some memorable moments included Boris hiding in a fridge, Jeremy Corbyn lying about watching the Queen's speech (suggesting it was usually on in his house during the morning) and a "Get Brexit Done" digger smashing through a wall plastered with the word "Gridlock". Fun times.

When it got to the election, things could hardly have gone better for Boris. 

He gained 48 seats, an 80-seat majority, and an overwhelming vote in favour of himself versus Mr Corbyn, who won only 202 seats. This was Labour's worst result since 1935. The country was blue.

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This result gave Boris the mandate to formally implement the day of the UK's withdrawal from the EU as 31 January 2020. It gave him a huge vote of confidence to lead the country his way for the following 5 years at least. 

Why do I tell you this? Why does this matter?

This was all the country was talking about 5 years ago.

But, how much of it can you remember happening?

How much of it matters now?

How much is just an irrelevant, distant memory?

This leads us to this week's question…

How important will this be in 5 years?

We spend a lot of time thinking about and discussing hot topics that feel significant in the moment. 

This is true of the news cycle, but also true in our own day-to-day lives.

We concern ourselves with things that simply won’t matter in just a few years.

Think back, using the election story if it helps.

Any idea what you were worried or nervous about on a typical day in 2019?

No, me neither.

This is not to say that there is nothing from that year still holds relevance.

The Conservatives are still in charge of the country. The UK is no longer a member of the EU.

Both facts are significant and had a lasting impact on the country.

Comparably, lots of what you do today will matter in 5-years.

But much of the daily noise and mindshare happening around the time is now irrelevant. Labour are set to win this year’s election at a canter and the direction of the country will change again. Lots of the characters who were centre stage in 2019 have vanished into obscurity (thank God). Many of the highlights from the campaigns are now vague memories.

This question - will this matter in 5 years - is useful to ask yourself when you are worried about a situation or about a decision you need to make.

Swap out the memory of Boris hiding in a fridge or Theresa May crying on the steps and replace these with some of the problems or people that make up our own individual news cycles on a daily basis.

There will be certain decisions and considerations that really do matter. These are the ones that should take up our mental capacities. Asking ourselves if it will still matter in 5 years time is a way to sort out whats worth worrying about and what isn’t.

If the answer is yes, this is a one-way door decision and should be taken seriously and approached with care.

If not, and it involves people or situations you don’t see as being a part of your life in 5 years time, don’t sacrifice joy and presence for a problem that you won’t be able to recall in the future.

Time moves on and so will you.