|
Home / Personal Development
Time: Do You Spend or Invest It?
By:Paula Gregorowicz
Time is our greatest and most precious asset. Time is the great equalizer of all us human beings. Why then do we not recognize and treat it with the respect it deserves?
Whether you are rich, poor, healthy, ill, or just humming along in your life somewhere in between, we all have only 24 hours in each and every day to invest wisely. We often spend a great deal of time and energy thinking and worrying about, or working to earn and pursuing more money. However, while we are doing that, sometimes we are missing the greatest gift of all - our time to experience our lives. A wise teacher once said to me, "You can always get more money but you can never buy more time." Good point!
How often do we consciously think about how we invest our time? I consciously use the word invest because the way we choose to spend out time is truly an investment in ourselves and our lives.
Based on my observations over the last several decades on this planet, however, you would never guess the true value of this time commodity by the way people act and speak.
First, let's look at the common ways people dishonor time with their actions. Do any of these choices look familiar?
- Spending hours in front of the TV.
- Sacrificing a healthy amount of regular sleep in an attempt to steal more time. (You may be awake for more hours, however being in a fog and loaded up on caffeine does not translate into quality or "more time".)
- Working ineffectively and/or spending so much time at a job that you have in effect handed over your life to someone else.
- Existing in a state of stressed out or burned out.
- Spending hours aimlessly surfing the internet.
- Participating in gossip or the rumor mill.
Now, let's take a look at the language we use when we discuss our precious friend, time. Do any of these comments look familiar?
- I wish it were Friday already! (usually spoken from a Monday through Thursday point of view)
- I'm just wasting time; or, this is a waste of time.
- I have some time to kill
- I'll get to enjoy my time when I retire.
- I'm just counting the hours until the end of the day, or the days until the weekend, retirement, etc.
So, how often do you wish away your life? How often do you let time simply pass you buy?
While it may sound cliché, the phrase Carpe Diem has a great deal of merit. It means, seize the day. I can still remember my first real experience with this term when Robin Williams challenged his young students in the movie Dead Poet's Society to do just that - seize the day. He used it as a call to arms where every student in his class should make each day a day that was truly explored and lived fully.
WHERE DOES MY TIME GO?
A Challenge for You
Do you know where all your time goes each day? What parts of your life are most important to you? Are those the parts of your life that receive the greatest amount of your time and attention? Or, do you find yourself doing the same things today that you did yesterday simply because that is what you did the day before that?
For the next month, take stock of where your time and your life go. At the end of each day, write down the number of hours spent in each of the main areas of your life. An example of what those main categories might look like could be:
Areas of My Life
Physical Health & Well-Being
Primary Relationship, Spouse, Significant Other
Friends, Family, Children, Relationships
Career/Work
Finances and Money
Physical Surroundings (home, work, etc.)
Spirituality (connecting with a power greater than yourself)
Fun and Relaxation
Making a Difference in your Community and the World
After the month passes, total up the hours spent in each category and reflect back on how you spent your time. Did "reality" surprise you? Or, was it what you expected? How does the way you invest your time on a daily basis make you feel? Is it in alignment with your values and what you really want from your life?
Take some time to take stock in how you invest your most precious asset - time. Remember, tomorrow is promised to no one. Carpe Diem.
Digg
del.icio.us
Blink
Stumble
Spurl
Reddit
Netscape
Furl
Article keywords: Paula Gregorowicz Success Coach, Philadelphia, burnout, success, achievement, feel free, avoid burnout, effectiveness, productivity, freedom, authentic, courage, results, women business owners, lesbian business
Article Source: http://www.articles2k.com
Paula Gregorowicz and The Paula G Company specialize in helping stressed out and overwhelmed women business owners achieve more success without all the burnout and compromise. Author of the burnout busting eCourse "Nip Burnout in the Bud" available at www.avoidburnoutnow.com . Paula offers free help through her Beyond Burnout newsletter at www.thepaulagcompany.com/newsletter.shtml . To learn more and download the FREE REPORT: "Top 10 Causes of Burnout and How to Avoid Them", visit her website at www.thepaulagcompany.com . E-mail her at paula@thepaulagcompany.com .
|
|
| Top Personal Development Articles |
- 1). What To Do When Your Fears And Worries Overwhelm You By : Stan Popovich
What do you do when your worries and anxieties overwhelm you? Here is a brief list of techniques that a person can use to help manage their worries and anxieties.
Sometimes what we fear may happen can be overly exaggerated. A lot of times, our worrying can make the problem even worse. Remember that all the worrying in the world will not change anything.
|
- 2). Stuttering And Stammering Speech Impediment By : blueboy
Stammering or as it is sometimes known as stuttering is a form of speech impediment.
My name is Stephen Hill and I had a stammer for eighteen years. I went to various types of speech therapy which even though was of some use, never really offered me any hope of a "cure".
At the age of twenty two, after a lot of hard work I managed to overcome the stammer and I now help other people to achieve fluency.
|
- 3). The first 14 dominant laws of the subconscious mind By : Emmanuel Segui
Copyright 2006 Emmanuel Segui
The subconscious mind is fascinating and intriguing. Yet, it is challenging to understand how it works so you can use its full power solve our problems and enhance every aspect of your life.
Here are the difficult principles of the subconscious mind made very easy so you can apply them in your life today and see results tomorrow.
|
- 4). Stop Fear Now By : Denton Krypps
I'm convinced that fear is one of the worst things in life. Think about all of the negative ways that fear affects your life. Think about all of the decisions you make or do not make because of fear in your life. Or think about the risks that you do not take or the relationships you do not pursue because of fear. You would do well to take a good look at the fears in your life and to attempt to tackle them head first until they are no longer fears.
|
|
|
- 6). Avoiding Your Persistent Fears Will Not Make Them Go Away By : Stan Popovich
Your fears, anxieties, and other problems have the best of you and you don’t know where to turn for help. At some point you feel totally helpless as you struggle each day. What do you do?
As a layman and an author of a Managing Fear book, there were times that my fears had the best of me. Through these experiences, there is one thing that I learned.
|
- 7). Success After Failure - Even Genghis Khan Lost Some Early Battles By : John Watson
Both the worst and the best of the great achievers had the belief in themselves and the resilience to overcome early failures. One of these was none other than Genghis Khan. There are powerful lessons we can learn from him.
In 1162 a child, called Temujin, was born in Mongolia clutching a blood clot - a sign that he was destined to be a great warrior.
|
- 8). Crisis Management: The Most Basic Of Needs By : Sandy Baker
Crisis management is something that every individual needs to consider. Whether you are preparing yourself for a crisis situation or if you are responsible for a school full of children, it is necessary to be prepared. There are excellent resources to help you do this and it also helps to take a good look at your individual situation. There are many types of crisis management situations and we will discuss that here.
|
- 9). Being the Mountain By : Judy Ringer
As I hiked up the path to the Peaceful Valley Chapel, I relished the quiet of my early morning solitude. After many years as a participant and assistant instructor at Thomas Crum's Journey To Center Program, this beautiful and energizing ten-minute hike had become a personal ritual. Each morning of each Journey to Center week, before our breathing and meditation session at 7, I always hike to the top of this small mountain to be inspired by the view of a much higher mountain range in the distance.
|
- 10). What Causes People To Develop A Speech Impediment? By : blueboy
I am one of many people who are unfortunate enough to develop a speech impediment in childhood. This article describes why these impediments may occur and how I went about achieving fluency. For the purpose of this article, I concentrate on the speech impediment known as stuttering.
There are many reasons why people may develop a stutter, it can be.
|
| New Personal Development Articles |
- 1). Achieve Emotional Freedom By : ian Williamson
Emotional Freedom Techniques, or EFT as it is most commonly known, is probably the most popular of a group of techniques collectively referred to as Energy Psychology (EP)
|
|
|
- 3). Are You Really Making Decisions? By : Garry Zancanaro
There is a massive difference between hoping and wishing for success, happiness, self improvement, or that something will change in our lives, and actively deciding to make changes to our lives.
|
- 4). Why Self Improvement Is Important - Part 1 By : Garry Zancanaro
An alarming percentage of people spend most of what they earn and many also have large debts. They are often no more that a few paydays away from bankruptcy and have little, if anything, put aside for emergencies, much less for a comfortable retirement.
|
|
|
- 6). Dealing With Frustration By : Garry Zancanaro
We all suffer from frustration, and being able to effectively deal with frustration is a very important skill to develop. It can be a decisive factor between success and failure.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
- 10). To Move Forward You Have To Be Able To Bounce Back! By : Garry Zancanaro
Successful people are also disappointed and affected by setbacks, and certainly get knocked down more often than most, if only because they try more things. This may happen not once or twice, but dozens or even hundreds of times. But successful people refuse to stay down - because they are resilient and will not be denied their dreams and goals.
|
|
|
