Is Time Your Friend?

What is your relationship with Time? Is Time your friend?

I know most people stress over their relationship with Time. That they have too little time and too much to do.

I believe that I have a pretty good relationship with time. I have learned not to worry about it too much . . . and I have also learned not to regret a lot of “wasted” time from my past even though I did waste a lot of it—and I learned from that, as well.

I no longer wish time would slow down and I definitely don’t hope it will speed up. I am content with allowing it to be what it is—and it keeps on keeping on with absolutely no help from me.

Perhaps that is one of the reasons why Time and I get along so well together—I don’t try to change it. I now know enough to believe that it needn’t do anything different. I accept it for what it is and I do everything I can to make the most of it, without overloading it with activities or tasks that won’t let me relax or rest. Or pause to reflect.

Is time your friend?

My relationship with time is the result of the decisions I make on how to spend it. Even though I keep myself busy I try not to take on too many responsibilities because I know that then, time will become my enemy. It will control me rather than be my friend.

More than anything, my relationship with time also depends on how I use it. Unlike money, where how much we have means far less than how we spend it. If I end up spending my time doing things that don’t add value to my life—things that are not productive or things that don’t help others, then guess what? The value of my time reduces.

There is only one thing more precious than our time and that’s who we spend it on.

If I spend my time doing only what I want or veg out in front of my TV living vicariously, I would be wasting my time learning nothing, doing nothing.

When I rest and relax, I do my best to spend my time learning new things so I can share them with others, or doing things that have a positive impact.

Time has a wonderful way of showing us what really matters.

I have noticed how some people are afraid of wasting their time and end up over-committing. They use their time ineffectively as they are constantly tired and never as good as they want to be at what they do. That’s not satisfying at all.

Then there are others that simply don’t care about how they spend their time. They drift through life from experience to experience without bothering to take risks or challenging themselves to make the most of the time they have.

I’d say balance is the key—but awareness of the need for balance is where it all begins.

Unless we are conscious about our relationship with time, how will we make the most of it?

Points to ponder:

• How will you spend your time today so as to add value to your life?
• Do you tend to waste time? How can you change those habits to use your time more productively?
• Do you allow other people to spend your time for you?
• Is time your friend?

Here are some of my favorite quotes about time to reflect on.

Time is the coin of your life.  It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent.  Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you. Carl Sandburg

Don’t be fooled by the calendar.  There are only as many days in the year as you make use of.  One person gets only a week’s value out of a year while another person gets a full year’s value out of a week. Charles Richards.

There’s never enough time to do all the nothing you want. Bill Watterson.

♥

Wednesday Wisdom is a series with short bursts of easy-to-consume wisdom in the form of inspiring stories, verse, quotes, anecdotes, reflections, easy meditation, thought-provoking questions and humor. Oh yeah, some days are not so short.