Designing a passionate life includes creating a great relationship with time. In our busy days with a list of things to do that is a mile long, it's really easy to get caught in the "I don't have enough time" syndrome. I know that this is something that I say quite frequently. This came to my attention after reading the book "The Big Leap" by Gay Hendricks. If you haven't read it I would suggest it. In the book, Gay talks about moving from 'living in your excellence' to 'living in your genius'. It is full of great information and how to apply it in your own life.
Time came up again when I interviewed Paula Eder about time management. During the interview Paula talked about the idea that it's up to us to define our relationship with time. It made me stop and think about time in a whole new way.
Time is not our enemy; it is what we decide to do with the time that gives the appearance that time is the enemy. Every second we make choices that affect how we use time. We put things on our 'to do' list for many reasons. Some are because we want them on the list and others may be because we think we are expected to do certain things by others, or we said yes to many times.
The story that Gay Hendricks told really made me realize that I was acting like a victim of time. I own time, it does not own me. Imagine this scenario, a father is reading the newspaper and his son comes up to him and asks him to play catch. The father replies "I'm sorry, I haven't got time right now."
Now imagine this scenario, the father is reading his newspaper and his son comes running into the house and says "Daddy, I cut myself!" The father would immediately put the paper down and assist his son. Rather than use time as an excuse, it would be much more honest if the father would simply have said, I'd like to read the paper right now, can we play catch in 30 minutes, is that OK?
How many times have you used time as an excuse not to do something rather than being honest about your choice? Gay Hendricks also suggests an exercise that you can give a try if you like. Remove any language that complains about time from your vocabulary.
Remove sentences such as:
I don't have time for that right now.
The time is flying by.
Where as the time gone?
I don't have enough hours in the day.
I have to run to the store.
I wish I could visit, but I don't have time.
I tried it and it is an extremely interesting exercise. I find myself being much more honest in what I say to other people and in the choices I make in each moment.
What do you want to do with the time that you have? It's up to you to decide. You are not the victim of time, you own time.
When are you going to take the first step and own time and start living a passionate life? Sign up for my free PDD report and get started now.
