What is your most precious resource?
Is it time?
Now – do you think you have enough of it?
Most people I know would say they don’t. They would say that there aren’t enough hours in the day, they are so busy, they are “too busy,” they “don’t have time.”
I hear you. I relate. I feel the same.
Rather, I felt the same.
Recently I’ve decided to change my language around time.
I used to say “I don’t have time” on a daily basis. I couldn’t meet up with friends because I had to work on a project, I didn’t have time. Didn’t make a doctor’s appointment for the 4th week in a row because I didn’t have time. Stayed glued to the computer for 10 hours and never went for a walk because I didn’t have time.
That narrative made me feel powerless. Like I was a Sims character being dragged around by a higher source, and that made me feel anxious.
I have been working on reminding myself of a few things:
1. We all have the same amount of hours in a day.
2. We are in control of our physical bodies and minds.
3. We can set our own priorities.
Yes, I may have demands or requirements that I need to own and so that dictates my schedule, but it is my choice to prioritize those demands.
It is my choice, not to carve out the 30 minute walk. I get to decide my priorities. And if my priority is work and not the walk that is fine, but I want to and need to own that.
So I no longer say “I didn’t have time.” I say “I didn’t prioritize exercise today.” The new version acknowledges the agency that I have over my own decisions, and reminds me that I have the luxury of making choices for myself.
Maybe tomorrow I will choose to prioritize exercise.
Every day is new. I have time. There is always time.
Make time for your priorities this week.
Resources:
1. Make the most of your time
2. Prioritize mindfulness with us on World Mental Health Day (tomorrow!)
3. Remember to have fun
With love and light,
Liv