86,400. That's the number of seconds that you have everyday to make the most of your life. The truth is that we have no clue how many total days we have on this earth. No doubt we will all have a beginning date and an end date with a dash in between.
I like to the call the dash your Personal Time Capsule. I love the fact that we individually all have the power to choose what goes into our individual time capsules. People who waste this amazing commodity, called time, are throwing away the power to have a life filled with amazing experiences. Why? Maybe we simply take time for granted and fall into a rut.
“A rut is a self constructed grave with both ends dug out by individuals who fell into a routine life while digging.”
I want to give you a unique plan for those rare individuals who truly desire to live and experience a rich life of impact. Let's get started.
Step One
Life needs to be carved into four pieces in order to clear space in the Time Capsule for a life of balance and enrichment. The four pieces include:
1. Family Time
2. Career Time
3. Relationship Time
4. Me Time
When your life is out of balance you will find life quickly loses its meaning. In a life out of balance, you will fall into a routine of a day after day life of less than you deserve. You have the sole authority to create a better paln and thereby a better life. I you can do it but will you act?
Step Two
When is the last time you literally planned time and scheduled things for all four areas above? Most people at some point have done a little bit in all four areas but the shift must be to make this a habit.
- Plan your work day for efficiency.
- Plan time for fun experiences with family.
- Plan time for you and your partner.
- Plan time for you and what fills you up.
How do you master this approach and set yourself free to live a more enjoyable dash between your starting date and end date? You create a schedule and learn to say no to the distractions in life that can throw us out of balance.
Step Three
Most people think it's the "yes" moments in life that determines their outcomes. I would argue the true success of our journey is more about what we say "no" to. It's been my experience that most people over commit themselves to too many things that add no value to their journey. There are many reasons this can happen but I think the root cause is that we haven't defined clearly enough what truly matters most in our lives. Once we define what matters we have created a decision-making template that will make it easier to say no to life's distractions.
“The way you use your time defines for everyone what truly matters to you.”
In closing, are you allowing your time capsule to be filled with meaningless activities that in the big scheme of things add very little value to your life? Do you really need to watch that episode of your favorite Netflix show? Maybe that same hour could be spent doing something with one of your kids. Do you really need that extra two hours of sleep this weekend or maybe you could use that time to work on your personal fitness.
Hopefully, you get the point. Open up your time capsule and realize today that you determine what goes in and nobody else. All we have is this moment to cherish. Use it wisely
Make A Difference Today,
~Paul
About the Author: Paul Cummings’ latest book is called It All Matters and will be released by Wiley Press on October 9th, 2017! Preorder your copy today!
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