I Don’t Have The Time!
Really?
This catch-all response serves you well when you don’t want to go to the gym or make a service appointment. And sometimes it is even the excuse for not pursuing your passion or for not being the human being your neighbor needs.
We are very focused on time. We have schedules, calendars, alarms, reminders… Our lives are segmented into blocks of minutes and hours. The very first thought as you meet an old friend might be “Great, now I need to find time for them”. Or imagine a colleague proposing a bold new idea at work—how often have you heard (or said), “That’s great, but who has the time?”
Not all time is the same
Think about a moment when you got to immerse yourself into something really interesting and meaningful—maybe you were working on a creative project, diving deep into a book, or having an engaging conversation. Did your feeling of time have anything to do with how much of it had actually passed? How about when you didn’t have much anything to focus on, and you were scrolling aimlessly on your smartphone to “kill time.” Did those hours leave you feeling any richer or did they just vanish?
Consider the value of the time in these two scenarios: You bump into an old neighbor at a grocery store by accident and have only a minute to say hi; or you schedule a time with them to sit for two hours to catch up. Will the longer time automatically feel more meaningful? Sometimes the brief passing moment of a smile and encouraging word might stick with you for a long time!
How about managing your energy instead?
Why do some moments stick and others vanish? The answer lies in your focus, your presence, and your energy. Some moments you’re fully engaged -- every nanosecond seems meaningful, even lifechanging! And other times you are distracted or disconnected… No amount of time invested seems to get you where you want to be.
Next time you encounter someone with a great idea, give them your undivided attention, even if just for a moment. And if you have a half an hour to work on an important project, focus all your energy to this one thing -- you probably achieve much more than during that distracted three-hour block of multitasking and distracted scrolling.
Your loved ones, your calling, your neighbor waving from across the street—they don’t need all the time in the world. What they need is you. Your presence. Your energy. Your focus.
So, what (or who) will get the best of your energy today?
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Understanding your energy helps you bring about your best and true self in every situation. If you’d like to explore further, I’d love to come alongside you!