Book a Demo
Book a Demo
false
false

Personal Development: Time – The Present

March 10, 2017

In a fast pace life, how precious is time? How much time do we spend rushing through the day without taking a break? I hear it in my daily conversations “I have so many things to do today, but so little TIME”. We have become a society obsessed with completing one task and moving to the next one.

It seems that our hectic lives are dictated by completing one task and moving to another. The message is clear: There is no time to waste. The many tasks we all need to complete are consuming and of the utmost importance… that is until the next undertakings come knocking again for our attention. Evidently, the next task is not just for work. In our personal lives, time is always fleeting. Let me dare proclaimed that we are a society that has become impatience with interruptions that seemed to happen all the time.

From the computer that is slow to boot up in the morning, the person in Starbucks who is ordering an extravagant drink to start the day, traffic jams on our way to work and all the way to our home when we arrived exhausted from all the time we spent accomplishing the tasks at hand.

There is no doubt that the responsibilities and pressures of this world scream for our attention. The myriad of things pulling us in different directions makes it all too easy for our time to get swallowed up in our world. I am not about to tell you that I have found the secret formula of how to freeze time. Nope…..That is not possible yet.

If there is one thing that has the power to encourage and motivate us unlike anything else, it is the feeling of accomplishment and the momentum it brings.

It is a feeling we all want, but one that often eludes us. The busyness of the day takes over, and instead of celebrating the day, proud of what you have accomplished, you look back and wonder what exactly you were able to get done.

Do you know how many seconds there are in a day? 86,400 seconds. I am going to take the next 360 seconds to tell you how we can start looking at time in a different way by giving you five tips I have incorporated into my daily routine.

Let me digress and I ask you a simple question: Have you stopped and smelled the roses? Literally, have you stopped and considered the gift that you have today? Today is not just another day in your life. Today is a gift – a gift that can only manifest through our understanding of time.

Looking back at all my life, I have come to realize that gratefulness has been an important part of my life. I have been alive for 12,755 days.

Tip #1

Gratefulness starts as I open my eyes in the morning. I begin my day by answering the following:

I am grateful for… 1.________2.________3.________

What would make today great? 1.________2.________3.________

Daily affirmations I am… 1.________2.________3.________

Tip #2

Make your bed! I know this sounds trivial, but I would provide you the example from legendary Naval Admiral William McRaven (head of Joint Special Operations Command during the Osama Bin Laden raid) and his commencement speech from the University of Texas at Austin: “If you make your bed every morning, you will have accomplished the first task of the day. It will give you a small sense of pride, and it will encourage you to do another task and another and another. By the end of the day, that one task completed will have turned into many tasks completed. Making your bed will also reinforce the fact that little things in life matter.”

This is a way to control what you can control. No matter how difficult the day ahead might look or how daunting it can get, you can make your bed and the pride you will receive from it. At the end of the day, you will come back and see something you had accomplished at the beginning of your day. It is a powerful reminder of how the “little things in life matter.”

Tip#3

Mediate/Work-out/Prime Your Mind

After listening to a podcast when the host asked Tonny Robbins to describe his daily morning routine, he emphatically believes that he needs to “prime” his mind prior to taking the day. In other words, you need to give yourself permission to do some type of daily mindfulness. It gives your mind and body active and ready for the day ahead. It is an effective and simple method to activate your mind and body. The best part is that it only takes a few minutes.

Tip#4

5 Minute Reflection

At the end of your day, take five minutes to write or think about what you were able to accomplish! Be proud!

Write down a few incredible things that happened 1.________2.________3.________

How could I have make today better? 1.________2.________3.________

Tip#5

Unplugged from the world once a week

Yes, you need to spend time with yourself. At least one hour a week away from all the distractions and responsibilities. Do something that will bring a smile to your face or put a smile on someone else. Reflect on your week and smell the roses!

In conclusion, the best present you can give yourself and others is TIME. It can only be done in the present time. When you give your time and undivided attention to someone, you are giving a portion of your life that you will never get back. Time has a powerful way of showing us what we consider a priority in our lives. It is not about not having time. It is about MAKING time. We all make time for what is important to us.

“Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.” Buddha

We need to place our focus, our time, and our effort into the people in our lives. We need to reflect and be grateful for all that transpires in our daily lives. Take a moment each day…just a few minutes to reflect on the things you accomplished. To give thanks for another day that you were able to enjoy.

Time is a gift because of the brevity of our lives. Our journey through life is significantly shorter than we imagine.