Spending Our Time

"Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you."    Carl Sandburg

Week 24

I once read a book that talked about our life being units of energy.  It spoke about how we all have a certain amount of those units and we, for the most part, determine how we will spend those units. The message was really the same as Carl Sandburg’s; our time is valuable.  I must say that turning 60 has certainly made me think more about those units of energy, and the idea that those units are limited and precious.  God only knows how many I have left, but suffice it to say I’m not wanting to waste any. 

Since part of my focus has been to make my life more intentional, I spent the last part of 2011 reviewing and reflecting on that.  I first wrote down my blessings and positive events from the year, and next the challenges that I faced, and then the lessons I think I have learned from those experiences.  It was really a valuable exercise for me.  I clearly saw how the use of my time was often directly correlated to joy or disappointment, a blessing or a challenge.  For example; If spending time with my loved ones brings me great job, then it makes perfect since that I want to spend more of my time doing it.  If I find myself spending extra hours at work, spinning my wheels and stressing and finding I have no time left for exercise, then I realize that I want to spend less time on that.  

When I was able to look back over the many positive opportunities, and experiences I received last year, I found that they fit in five categories very nicely. I believe if I invest more time in these areas, I will enjoy even more blessings as a result of it.

So, considering this precious coin of life, and the fact that I can, for the most part, determine how I spend it, here is my focus in 2012. I'll also be creating more specific goals for each of the areas in the next few weeks.

1.  spend more time doing what is good for me. 
2.  spend more time doing what is good for others

3.  spend more time doing what I’m good at

4.  spend more time doing what I like to do

5.  spend more time creating and enjoying a pleasant environment

Of course all of this extra time I'm going to be spending in these areas leads me to last point, which may seem obvious and self evident. We all have equal opportunity in the amount of hours in our days ...so if we want to spend more time in one area of our life, we can't just go dig up more energy units, instead it means we have to intentionally take those units that are not giving us good results, and transfer them to the areas that do.  (later on we can talk more about how we might do a better job of transferring those negative into positives)

So that’s it for this week…I am determined to take responsibility for how I spend ‘the coin’ in my life.  But, that's enough about me.... I'm wondering, how are you going to spend your time?

Small Steps:

1. Spend time doing what is good for me

2. Spend time doing what is good for others
3. Spend time doing what I’m good at

4. Spend time doing what I like to do

5. Spend time on creating pleasant environment