“You should sit in meditation for 20 minutes a day, unless you’re too busy; then you should sit for an hour.” -Old Zen saying
In our fast paced, over scheduled culture, it appears that time is bigger than us. It’s not. In fact, we have each have a lifetime of time. Time is a fact of life and it plays a big part in how successful and fulfilled we can be in life. The benefits of evolving our relationship with time are quickly reflected in our overall quality of life.
First, acknowledge that what we do with our time is a choice. We can choose to do a lot or very little with our time. We can use time to move our life forward or we can hang around in life letting time pass. We can rush around being chronically late or being neurotic with compulsive earliness. We can be anxious that there isn’t enough time or there’s too much time; things are happening too fast or not fast enough. These behavioral and psychological patterns lead to dissatisfaction in life and are a nagging burden on others. Consider being with someone who is chronically late or always rushing around in order to be on time even denying they're late or making excuses like ‘the traffic’ or ‘no parking spot’ etc. This can be a real strain on a relationship.
Transforming our time dysfunction transforms our own lives even within our busy cultural context. If you sense you have a time dysfunction and you see how it is holding you up in life, you may feel like this is another to-do on a long list of items already hijacking your time. Don’t worry. Time is not a problem. Consider time a project for the positive fulfillment of all your life purposes, goals and dreams.
Begin by keeping a clear schedule of the things to be done.
Decide to show up on time.
Do what it takes to be on time.
Say no when you want to.
Only agree to do what you can do in the time that is realistic and that supports fulfillment in life. Expect others to challenge you.
Face the challenges without going victim by making excuses.
Be resourceful and find solutions to ensure you are on time.
The situation is simple: one has a life. One seeks to fulfill it. So, let’s make time for that!
