Do you think of your time as an endless commodity and tend to not worry about what tomorrow will bring? Or, is your time a valued treasure in a finite quantity and you feel like you have so many things to do in a day that an army of six couldn’t possible accomplish it all?
The two absolutes in life besides death and taxes are change and time, with time being the ultimate equalizer. With every rising and setting of the sun, another 24 hours of time arrives and passes. Time is truly your connection from yesterday to tomorrow. It is the bridge to your future.
Where are you on your time awareness continuum and should you care? Do you live for your weekends? Are you always behind? Do you wonder where your day went? Upon reflection, how did you spend your last 24 hour day? Was what you did with those hours worth trading for a day of your life?
Remember, as each day passes you are exchanging 24 hours of your life for what you did – is it worth it?
How do you define your time?
Everyone is aware of time to some extent but many do not realize they should be in control of it, not the reverse. Children want to become teenagers, and teenagers want to become adults. Then at some point, adults start dreading the “9” years; 29, 39 and at 49 you think the world will surely come to an end as you turn 50. After your 50th birthday you realize that it was truly just another 24 hours of time passing. As you age, your perspective does change and you look forward more to each and every day, realizing it is a finite commodity. Now, are you still debating the value of a minute or have you moved to the place of valuing each minute and living it to the fullest?
Balance your time so you are in control!
Imagine ending each day with time left over just for you. Imagine a better tomorrow without stress; one filled with joy. Imagine your world where you control time and time does not control you. If you can imagine this, you can create it.
When applying Feng Shui to your life, balance is the key. Balance in your surroundings provides you supportive positive energy so you can live a better life. Balance in self leads to peace and joy within. Balanced time keeps you in control of the events in your life, not allowing the events to control you and your time. When you are in control, you are no longer a victim of circumstances but have taken charge of your own destiny.
Time is spent six basic ways. Treat these six segments of time the same way you treat a budgeted amount of money. If you treat your 24 hours like budgeted money, you will soon realize that time is of great value and to be guarded at all costs. For the most part, people spend time in the following categories.
Earn income to support self and/or their families
Interaction with a spouse, family members and with friends
Recreation, creativity and play
Sleep to meet the needs of their body
Taking care of oneself – this includes everything from purchasing clothing and food to taking a shower
Nurturing one’s spiritual self – this includes anything from church or synagogue activities to meditation, journaling and prayer
Now that you have an idea of the basic ways people spend their time, it is up to you to determine whether you are missing any one of these categories, which can create a major imbalance in your life or if you are spending way too much time in one or two categories. If you are, you need to make a conscious decision about changing so you can find balance once again.
Beware, this is not a one size fits all process. Each person needs a specific amount of sleep and recreation to balance work and relationship interactions. Most people also realize they need a certain amount of time to take care of self, including doctor and dental appointments.
The part most often overlooked is time devoted to nurturing your soul, which causes the dilemma so often faced at age of 50: Is that all there is? No, that is not all there is but in order to find the illusive “that,” you need to spend time nurturing your soul to find it. Evaluate and re-arrange your time expenditures as necessary so you are in-control, have extra time to do the things you want to do and have less stressful days that provide you with more peace and joy.
© Pat Heydlauff, all rights reserved 2016 Pat Heydlauff, a “flow of focus” expert, speaker and consultant designs home and workplace environments that unleash the flow of focus and maximize performance while creating balance and increasing prosperity. She is author of the forthcoming book, Beyond Engagement: Seven Ways Leaders Fuel Tomorrow’s Sustainability and published books, Feng Shui, So Easy a Child Can Do It and Selling Your Home with a Competitive Edge. Contact her at 561-408-270