CONCEPTS OF TIME
Legend has it that a purveyor of great wisdom was asked by a young person, "What is the greatest gift in the world?"
"Why that" replied the old man without hesitation, would be to have all the time you need. But, beware, for such a measure of time can be given to no one. We must all help ourselves to our own portion of time and learn to use it wisely; otherwise, many of the blessings of this most precious gift will be denied us."
Implied in this reply is a fundamental truth about time which many have been slow to understand.
TIME IS NOT GIVEN TO US - TIME IS ONLY MADE AVAILABLE TO US.
How much, and how we use it is up to us. Time is like a suitcase. Some people can pack for a two-week trip in one small bag, while others need several bags for an overnight outing. Do you feel you get maximum use of your time? Or, do you find yourself frequently taking work home, working weekends and still never feeling caught up? Do you feel overworked, stressed and unappreciated? Do you feel "overwhelmed" by life and out of control? Are you managing your time or being managed by it? It remains for you to learn how to get the most of the hours, days, months and years of your life.
Time is often viewed only as the passing of minutes measured by the clock, or as the stream of days marked by the flipping of a calendar's pages. If you look upon time strictly from this standpoint, you will fall short of getting the full value of the future awaiting you. Time you see, actually has two dimensions: hours and energy. By wasting one, we waste the other. but by using one wisely, we enhance the other's value.
COMMON ENEMIES OF TIME
Perhaps the greatest enemy of time is procrastination. Whenever we put off doing something until we think we "have the time" we are tugging at the inertia of our lives.
An anonymous writer once proclaimed that..
"The greatest stumbling block in the path of most men is not laziness or fear, but an enemy called Tomorrow."
You no doubt have known someone who makes bold plans, announces them to the world and then waits until "tomorrow" to start carrying them out. The days and weeks pass, the months slip by, but "tomorrow" never arrives. This person literally wears himself out by carrying the burden of never-begun projects which he might very well complete in a few hours or minutes if he would only begin doing them. If you discover yourself putting things off until "tomorrow" there is a simple two-step process that you can use to achieve positive results. The process is based on the fact that procrastination is mostly a matter of indecision.
The first step in curing indecision is to determine just what is involved in doing the task, before you automatically postpone it. This can save you hours and even days of mental energy you would expend by carrying around the weight of unfinished business. Accumulate the facts you need in order to find out how great the task really is. The second step is to immediately determine exactly when, based upon the time you need to allot, you are going to perform the task. You may decide to do it at once; if not, set a specific time such as seven o'clock tonight or before breakfast tomorrow morning.
A definite commitment to a definite time will motivate you to take action more readily than a vow to do something "later on" or "when I have more time."
By establishing a specific deadline, you can pursue other activities with a free mind.
Another enemy of effective time organization is the habit of excusing our inaction. We frequently waste more time explaining why we haven't gotten around to doing something than it would have taken us to actually do it! Every time we indulge in such explanations, we confess to ourselves and to the world that we have not learned to manage our time. While our intent is frequently to "excuse" our inability to get the job done by explaining that it's "not our fault.. we just too busy," the result is that we tell the world we're not leading, rather we're lead. Instead of explanation, we need action. Each instance in which you substitute action for explanation and complete a task, you increase your feeling of being in control, your worth as a leader and achiever and the value of the hours that follow. You also build your self-image because you realize how much control you have gained over your life.
Regretting past mistakes is another thief of time..
"Finish each day and be done with it," wrote Emerson.
You cannot live life retroactively. When an experience is passed, it is beyond recall. You can learn from it, but you cannot change what has happened. In fact, if you look back upon some misfortune, you may even discover that it worked out to your advantage. "Every cloud has a silver lining" is frequently true for those who seek to find it. Waste no time wallowing in the muck of the past mistakes and misfortunes. Instead of letting yourself be pulled down, be aggressive, take action and proceed forward.
A LEADER LEARNS FROM MISTAKES, BUT IS NEITHER IMMOBILIZED NOR DEFEATED BY THEM.
Managing your time, then is a responsibility that rests solely with you. The degree of your commitment to achieve personal goals will determine how serious you are about setting priorities for your time.
Article Source:http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dominick_Borzomat
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