Life moves fast.

Way too fast.

But in the middle of the hustle and bustle, we forget to do what we were born to do.

We forget to live.

Yep, I said it.

But who has time?  I barely got my Christmas cards out in the mail, the tree is still up, my house looks like a junkyard, and the kids are driving me crazy (when do they go back to school?)! Sound like someone you know too?

Here is our biggest illusion:

Time is the constant.

For every one of us.

We believe we need more time, when really we just need to make better use of our time.  Some of us are better at managing our time than others.  Maybe we get distracted – catching glimpses of insignificant things in our peripheral vision that consumes time we should use elsewhere.  Perhaps we feel so overloaded with the number of things to do that we never complete any because we never know where to start.  Or could you be the person who sets the example for the rest of us?  With a perfect balance?  Is there really someone out there like this?

We are all allotted 24 hours in a day.  No more.

I am not sure when, but I learned the value of time when I was young.  Maybe it was when I listened to the 24 second clock ticking away during my basketball games.  Maybe it was the time I was late to Sunday School and was too afraid to walk in, with the stares I knew would come my way. (Side note – from that moment on, I set my clocks ahead five minutes so I would never be late again.)  And to those that know me personally, they know I can always make time.

Making time and having time are two different things, but we think they are the same.  One is a conscious decision to put other things aside — for a few minutes, an hour, or even a few days — and to focus on what really matters.  The other is an excuse.  We convince ourselves that because we don’t “have” time that we can’t “make” time.  That is how we get off…easy.

  Time is the inevitable.

So, if we can’t get any more hours and are just as busy (if not busier) than we have ever been, how do we make time to live?

You have to see this answer coming, don’t you?

The life we live, including how we use our time, comes down to one thing and one thing only…

CHOICES!

Every thing we do in our lives is a result of a choice we made.  Some things we didn’t pick.  But that choice doesn’t end once it is made.  It still affects us.  We choose how to react, what we believe, and what action we take next.  Those are all choices.  Choices we can make or not make.

So as you take an inventory of your life, chances are you are going to find out who and what matters most.  And in order to make time, you have to accept that it is time to “clean the closet.”

Clean the closet? What does that mean?

It means looking at what brings you joy, what gets you excited, and what do you love to do?  Once you identify what you love, then identifying those people who make you better is easy.  Chances are the list is short and you can discard the rest.  Living your life means taking the time to live your BEST life!  With the BEST people, doing the BEST things. If it is not the BEST, then it is time to let it go.  Stop using your precious time on the frivolous, the unimportant, and the unnecessary. Because my time is so valuable, I don’t have time for bullshit.  And that has made everything much clearer — because if it looks like it and smells like it…

You have to live YOUR life.  Don’t complain about what you don’t have because you don’t have time.  “Busy” is an excuse.  Someone told me, “I am sorry…I got busy.”  Because you had a point in your life when you weren’t busy?  Wow.  Wonder what that is like.

Whenever I hear someone say, “I didn’t have time…”, I wish they would say what they really meant…”I didn’t make time…”

Every month, I meet a friend for lunch.  Every month.  In fact, as soon as our lunch is over, one of us reaches out to the other to schedule for the next month.  While the idea is still fresh in our minds, we understand how valuable time is and refuse to let it take hold of our friendship.  It has become something that we look forward to every month.  An hour may not seem like much to you, but to us, it is never time wasted as we become even better friends.

Time is our most precious commodity and when it is gone, it is gone forever.  It cannot be rewound, replayed, or stopped.  It continues.  And so does our lives.  With our one life, we need to remember to make and take time to live.

How do you make time in your life?

What choices have allowed you to make better use of your time?

Where do you struggle with time in your life?

Remember that your time is related to the choices you make.  Choose wisely, young Grasshopper.

Michelle A. Homme 2014 ©