What fundamental trade-off exists between a star's mass and its life expectancy?

High mass trades longevity for immediate brilliance, while low mass sacrifices brightness for unparalleled endurance.

There is a fundamental inverse relationship governing stellar lifespans relative to mass: high mass accelerates energy expenditure in exchange for immediate, intense luminosity, while low mass conserves fuel over vast stretches of time at the cost of being dim. Massive stars burn hot and fast, burning through their large fuel reservoirs quickly to maintain equilibrium against immense gravity. Conversely, the least massive stars, like Red Dwarfs, operate fusion so slowly that their fuel lasts for timescales exceeding the current age of the universe. This contrast highlights that the rate of consumption dictated by mass overrides the total quantity of initial fuel.