A story told time and time again is “I don’t have enough time” or “I could not find the time to…….” The issue here is simply in the verbiage. If you are looking to “find time” you will never find it.
Time cannot be found. Time simply is.
Time is present and we are present within it. Have you ever slowed down enough to be with yourself in the moment? If so what happens? This is very much a practice based in mindfulness, but such a healthy one. When I am taking groups or individuals through guided relaxation or imagery and we take a couple minutes of silence to focus on our breath, one thing I often hear from people afterwards is “that was the longest minute of my life”. So, when we don’t have enough time we complain about it and when we are present within time we complain about how slow time is passing. What a contradiction. If you have ever allowed yourself to be present and within a state of mindfulness you have probably noticed how much time seems to slow down when you focus on it with each passing second. When you embrace the moment, you embrace yourself within the moment.
We live in a world where there is such a strong sense of scarcity in our culture. We often here people talk about what they do not have enough of, instead of what they have. Wake up in the morning and already you don’t have enough time, or clothes to wear, or money. You may tell yourself that you are not skinny enough or fit enough. The concept of not “having enough” is ever growing, as is the desire to always have more. The same goes for time. You may tell yourself that you don’t have enough time to take time for yourself. Or, you cannot find the time to go to the gym. You are absolutely correct if this is your way of thinking as you will never find time. Instead, you must make time. We often give up on or lose out on things that may be important to us or even good for us because somehow they get moved around on the priority list.
I had someone say to me recently “I always feel like I am being fit in, like he is literally just finding time for me, booking me into a time slot”. What an awful feeling to be on the receiving end of – to be fit in. In essence, many people want to feel like they belong and that they are important. Imagine, instead, making time for someone or something that is important to you. What would that be like? Imagine making time for yourself? What might you do with it?
The thing with time is that it is a limited resource. It is one thing that we cannot simply buy more of on demand. It is also the one thing that we tend to give away so easily. Can you think about the ways in which you are giving away your time day after day?
The following manifesto has been viewed over 65 million times by people all around the world of all walks of life. The meaning behind every line is centered around the concept of not wasting your time.
The point is, no matter how much you get done, there will always be more to do. Imagine letting go of having to get everything done and focus instead on making time for achieving, experiencing, or feeling what is important to you. Imagine you made time to be present and allowed yourself to embrace your surroundings. Imagine you made time for that important person in your life or relationship you are looking to develop or grow. Imagine you made time to re-connect to your self and got to know who you are on a deeper level.
If you find yourself complaining about not having enough time, then simply remind yourself that you will make time for what is really important to you. What’s even more important here is knowing what is important to you….
