Use time or be used by time.

Recently I’ve come to view time as a resource. I don’t think we as people realize how precious a resource it can be, something to be spent and used, hoarded and given away. Ofttimes we hear how time is often wasted on the young and not enough is had for the old. And I feel the reason for this is our mindset. Now this isn’t to say you should view time as an economist i.e. “What kind of interest can I get for my time? How much can I spend to get the most out of my time? ect.”

I just think we as people both young and old need to view time differently and not indifferently.

I recently had concerning news that turned out to be nothing, but I despise how its these moments of turbulence that make me think differently and only then start to appreciate what I have, especially with the time I have been gifted. Especially since time can change, time can be spent carelessly and without thought. I just wish we as people tried to prepare ahead, to know where to direct proportions of our own time into the things we find that matter to us. So many of our days are spent on things that if looked at from afar in the ‘grand schemes of things’ have minimal, to almost no bearing on what is precious to us in the long run.

The thing is, this post for me isn’t to preach but to appreciate.

I think we read a lot about how we are all wasting our time on things that don’t matter, scrolling on our phones and watching Netflix shows that we’ve seen a thousand times, and I think these things are necessary. There’s a difference between wasting time and using our time to relax enough to be present in the important moments. I have learned that trying too many things too quickly is inefficient. You can’t learn a language in one day, and we need the downtime of ‘wasted time’ to be able to efficiently use our time on the things we are actually invested in.

This post is a call to us all to view time as something to be used and not to be used by. If we viewed time as currency I feel like it would change the way we live our lives. A never-ending bank account that renews itself every 24 hours. An incredible resource that we don’t even realize is there.

The sad thing is while time is ours to use, it may be gone in the blink of an eye.

What people fail to see is that time is relative to others. What time we use in our own lives is linked to those around us. The time we spend with friends, family and our partners is directly related to how they choose to use their time, and how much time they themselves have. And I don’t think a lot of people realize this. We are used by not only our time but by other’s time as well. Effective use of time isn’t easy, it’s spread across our beliefs, our interests, our finances, our bodies and even our own capabilities.

But that doesn’t mean we can’t choose where we want to focus our time and that’s what’s important. Across all spectrums of time there is no one who doesn’t have ‘free time’ and this free time is an incredibly important resource. It’s the bread and butter of our development. Where we focus our free time is where and what eventually ends up becoming our goals, our state of mind both physically and mentally, and it controls our love for the things we find precious in our life.

I guess what I wish for people to take away from this dear, Reader is to think about how you use your time? What do you want from your time? And remember that it doesn’t matter what you dedicate your time to, but the important thing is that you choose where you spend your time, and that time doesn’t choose it for you.

Use time, don’t let time use you.