Shifting Foundations: Let Time Be on Your Side
Money is not our most valuable asset. Time is.
I saw a quote recently that read something like:
“Forget aging with grace. Age with audacity, adventure and a great story to tell.”
While my middle name is Grace and the idea of living a graceful life feels sweet, the thrill of adding in a little (non-harmful) mischief and adventure sounds better. I’ve always had this side to myself, the one that likes the mystery over stability. The person who likes to mix things up and seeks creativity and living outside the box. The personality that is drawn to a non-linear path and keeps my family on their toes guessing what my next move will be.
My best friends tend to be a little wild. They are fun, bold, and authentically themselves. Being with them feels like an adventure in itself even if we are just cooking in the kitchen and talking about life, it is always interesting and dynamic. What is the tie between our personalities? We make the most of our time.
We live life fully. We follow our hearts over the status quo or the “logical choice.” We create lives we are enamored with. We live big and feel big. We know our time on this earth is fleeting and for that, we take advantage of each soul-expanding opportunity to say yes and jump in with both feet.
While I wouldn’t trade my personality traits for anything, this is also why I have difficulty sticking with one job when my passion or interest in it has burned out. I do not have the disposition of someone who can work at an insurance company for 25 years then retire and start “really living.” I want to live a life of adventure through each decade and phase of life.
Fortunately, I know I have done so. I often think to myself if I died tomorrow, I would be satisfied with my life. I have drank tea in a Sufi lodge under the Scorpio constellations, I have shared bananas with Mayans in the back of a pick-up truck on a dirt road in Guatemala, I have known great love and great heartbreak, I have friends across the globe who fill my heart with happiness, I have spent summers planting seeds with my Grandpa on his farm, I have laughed until it hurt, I have set foot in 21 countries, and I have been blessed to live on Maui for over 10 years.
Even though every moment cannot be amazing or outstanding, I can confidently say I have lived well and continue to do so.
A huge part of this is being very intentional about how I spend my time.
From the moment I wake up to when I close my eyes at night, I do my best to ground with meditation, breath and movement, I take care of my tasks and responsibilities, I have fun, I get outside and soak up the beauty of the earth, I tell my friends and family how much I love them and I count my blessings to have a home of my own, a cozy bed, water that you can drink from the tap and a fridge full of healthy foods.
I have also learned incredible time management skills that help me do all of these things along with completing laborious or trying tasks that you are not excited to do. I love to teach my clients these time management skills and show them that you don’t need to have a type A personality to be good at time management. I live for the moments when a client realizes that time management can be fun.
I am assigning some “homework” for you this week. While it is not mandatory, I encourage you to try having an awareness of how you spend your time.
If you constantly feel like you “don’t have enough time,” take one day and document how you spend your free time, if you work, how productive you are at work, the amount of sleep that you get and the time you spend on your health/wellness. Notice if you have any “time leaks” for example, scrolling/online shopping on your phone or checking your emails before you get out of bed.
Not having enough time is often a lie that we tell ourselves or a product of bad time management.
When I have days when I feel overwhelmed or like I am running around like a chicken with its my head cut off, I use this as a reminder to reset: what can I cut out of my plans for that day? What am I saying yes out of obligation or guilt to that I don’t want to do? Where can I cultivate time for a break from screens and redirect that to a walk outside?
Time is one of our most valuable and precious resources. How are you using yours?
In your corner, Naomi
P.S. If you are ready to revolutionize your time management, let’s talk
