In our high-tech societies, where messages are exchanged at the speed of light, where we are constantly busy doing something (who knows what), it is often difficult to find time for yourself.
For some, impossible to go running or they are too tired, and for others, inconceivable to work out weekends because they have kids; for others still, it seems that dedicating 3-4 hours a week to exercising is more a hassle than anything else.
I’m busy!
I would, but my schedule is packed!
I don’t have time man!
Lately, an idea spread out that a person who is constantly busy and burdened by an endless number of tasks is someone who is actually progressing in life…. This obsession with constant “busyness” leaves people thinking that if they don’t have time, then it is simply impossible for them to take care of themselves, to do what they truly want, or even just enjoy the present moment for a while.
Paradoxically, however, the most productive people seem to have the most time, and the least productive seem to have the least… I definitely won’t forget to pity all those people who imposed the 12 labors of Hercules on themselves.
Who then has time ? Even worse, how is it even conceivable these athletes and CEO’s, who also have a family a ton of obligations do it? Time is quite a complex apparatus, and it is up to you whether you choose to submit to it, or whether you chose to use it to the best of your advantage – a necessity if you don’t want to condemn yourself to fail…
The majority of the people that I know have ‘zero time’ to do anything besides working or other occupations they don’t really enjoy. And when I ask friends if they are available, the often answer me: “I don’t know, I’ll keep you posed”… isn’t this proof that this person has the time, time he or she will not hesitate to use for yet another painstaking task?
There will never be a good enough excuse for a lack of motivation, and using a busy schedule as a pretext for not taking responsibility of your life is nothing but an easy way out you won’t admit to using.
A person who truly knows what she wants will find, no matter what, time to work out, time to eat healthily, a time for defining her priorities. For everyone else, I suppose it may take a little while to realize that there is only one captain on board, you yourself!
The active people I know have fully understood this, in other words, those who have taken responsibility of their lives are those who are also the happiest, who know how to work when necessary but also how to stop when necessary. Having time on your hands does not mean being lazy, it means you have realized that the way you utilize that time is up to you.
Dedicating a few hours to work out is a conscientious choice, just as letting yourself go is… except for this second choice it is easier to use a busy schedule as an excuse I’m confident.
Understand that time passing by is an opportunity given to you to express yourself, listen to your heart and do what you want to do. Know how to take your time, and not see it as a frightening monster that controls us from cradle to grave. If you don’t take it into your hands today, docile as it is, when will you do so?
Are you waiting for retirement to travel?
Do you wait for the holidays to go exploring?
Are you waiting for a flat tire to go for a stroll?
Putting yourself in a passive position, where you constantly are waiting to act, takes away your ability to express your potential, and you are instead left in a self-constructed glass prison.
In practice…a beginning athlete can start by planning his training sessions, the business man by taking on less work, and the student by anticipating ahead. I am not more or less busy than you, I just note that many accept to submit themselves to this frenzy of occupation which is so dear to our societies. It’s up to you to free yourself from this mindset and to realize that working to support yourself does not mean becoming a slave to your necessities.
Although the model of our society is improvable, I don’t know of anyone who needs to work 18 hours a day to pay their rent… This enhances my conviction that we are lucky to have this opportunity, one that is but a dream in other countries. Taking your time, putting it to good use and enjoying are the keys to your own success.
Having the body of your dreams, becoming a dancer, artist, or athlete are simply goals that you as well as I can reach. Just understand that your only obstacles are psychological barriers, and that they will keep appearing so long as you give your energy to those productivist egregrores loaded on speed. .
We often forget about direct experience, in other words, to let ourselves live in the moment and to silence the projections of hypothetical futures to come (where the grass will be greener, work easier and time more accessible.) It’s by cultivating this attitude that you will be able to dissipate the ideological weight sanctifying a busy and constricting life. Don’t be afraid to let yourself express your desires, and to let them impact the way you spend your time.
I believe that living in the moment is the best remedy when faced with the rationality and beliefs of a society that claims to have all the answers for us.
Have the courage to have time, and know how to enjoy it. It is only then that you will understand that you don’t need to wait for the next train to live the life you dream of.
Time is a created thing. To say ‘I don’t have time,’ is like saying, ‘I don’t want to.
Lao Tzu
