Let’s just get to it. I like many of you do not like my time being wasted, point, blank and the period!
I find little sense in turning a simple process into a drawn out blueprint of the empire state building, if you know what I mean. It’s unnecessary, a bore and more than that is thoroughly frustrating.
I’m sure we could name a few people off the top of our heads that are not very useful and have no problem wasting your time or theirs for that matter, ggrrrr to those people!
However, such people are not the focus of this post, they were the initial inspiration but this post is not about them, this message is for you and I.
It is impossible to control the actions of another person so it will be redundant to rant and rave about someone’s terrible behaviour and actions without introspection on our own part.
I had a recent incident that (for lack of a better expression) drove me up the wall! I spent some time being annoyed with a situation and in that moment felt stuck and unable to progress. I wanted them to take responsibility for their lives and manage their business properly…Fat chance -_-
After reflecting on this, I acknowledged that there was some part of it that I played in the whole situation, albeit a minute one. This minute part ironically impacted on me significantly. The breadth that I afforded it, was further contribution towards my aggravation.
Sometimes we spend a great amount of time complaining when things aren’t going well, holding that situation hostage and going over it, over and over again creating it to be much larger than it ever need be. We have now spent that time being irritable with the chain of events or lack thereof, that in its place could have been used to be industrious and beneficial for us. The same amount of time used focusing on a problem can be used to create a solution.
The time we have is OURS to use however we see fit and should not be wasted on ineffective things or people.
What you use your time to do determines the kind of life you live. Whatever you spend your time doing will reflect in your day-to-day life. I once read something that said “If you are broke this time next year you only have yourself to blame” and that has stuck with me. You + activity x time= results.
So if you are in a position that YOU were in last year then it is evidence as to what you did or did not do with your time.
Some people will say “I am waiting for the perfect time” and my response to that is, such a time does not exist-You have to create it to be that way. People make plans for what they will do in the future for what they can actually begin to do now.
For example, you want to build your own house do you a) Wait till to have enough money b) Hope, wish and pray for someone to give you a lifeline or c) Begin the ground work for building a house without the capital. The pragmatic thing to do is c, you should always prepare for something as if it is right in front of you. The more you work at it the more achievable it becomes. You can speak to architects, contact construction companies, find out if you require planning permission and so on whilst you are working on attaining the capital. There is a wealth of knowledge to be acquired during that time which immediately becomes applied knowledge once the money is available. There is nothing more regressive than finally having the money and realising that you haven’t got the slightest idea on how to go about building your house. What would eventually happen is that you’ll end up wasting resources trying to figure it out, which could have been averted, if the proper planning was executed. When you are prepared, opportunities are quickly to come.
Those minutes that seem miniscule in the grand scheme of things, are crucial in building up the right habits that will enhance your life. To form any habit be it good or bad, time must be spent investing. You may view 5 minutes or 10 minutes as not enough time but that’s EXACTLY what you need to create a habit. In fact the act of not doing something because you THINK you don’t have time IS a habit in itself, its called procrastination!
Living in the “I can’t do this” means you won’t ever do it or even worse you will be forced to give it attention. You might think 30 minutes exercise isn’t sufficient and therefore put it off till you have more “time”, tell that to your doctor who now says you have to lose weight or you’ll be at a higher risk of heart disease or I can’t commit to creating this invention right now as I need days and weeks and then watching Dragons Den and seeing someone with your same idea get the investments they need to make it a global brand-feel the burn…
So three things to remember:
- Don’t be a time waster. You chose who, what, when and how it is used
- Every minute is valuable (Think about the person who was a minute too late in saying goodbye to their loved one). Your life is a direct reflection of what you have been doing.
- If you want something, start now, don’t put off till tomorrow what you can begin to do today.
I end with this quote “Don’t look for the next opportunity, the one you have in hand is the opportunity”-Paul Arden
PS Time is To Impact (your) Maximum Existence