Re-think Time
In today’s modern world, it often feels like time controls us more than we control our time. Our calendars fill up with meetings. Time demands roll in and in. The seconds and minutes quickly click by on the clock. Busyness consumes us.
But what if we could control time more than we think? As this article points out, perhaps we construct more of our realities than we realize. Or, as Albert Einstein said, “Time is an illusion.”
If it is, what if that means that we can shape our time to our benefit?
Henry David Thoreau said, “It is not enough to be busy… The question is: what are we busy about?” And, in a podcast interview with Seth Godin, Debbie Millman said, “Busy is a decision.” To shape our time, perhaps we need to first ask: What do I want to be busy about? Or, to get control of our busy, am I clear on what I want to say Yes to and No to in order to set boundaries on my time?
There’s the adage, “You don’t find time, you make time.” Finding time is passive and sounds like a difficult exploration—where the heck is that time somewhere out there? Making time is an act of choice and prioritization. What do you want to make time for?
Can we change the experience of time? I shared in a post how I recently re-read Alan Lightman’s book, “Einstein’s Dreams.” It’s a beautiful collection of short vignettes on time that makes one think of time and how to experience it differently. For example, what if you thought about the quality of the time spent doing an activity rather than the quantity? Or, is this a time to pause and get quiet?
Or, what if you could control your pace? Is this an event I should speed up or slow down?
What if we can make better use of our time? Listening to a podcast with Ryan Holiday, who writes on the stoics, he references Seneca’s philosophies on time. One being: “It’s not that life is short, it’s that we waste a lot of it.” What if we were to treat time as precious?
Or, Holiday shares how Seneca talks about the idea that death is not in the future; rather we are dying every day as each day passes. What if we were to not let important things go?
What if we realized that we could get more out of brief amounts of time? Because is time long or short? Is one minute long or short? Sit for 1 minute and take deep breaths. Was that long? Or, was it short? What amount of time is needed for certain tasks? To create some space and a pause? To center and restore yourself?
And finally, considering what Dorie Clark shared on The Sustainable Ambition Podcast, Episode #31, should we take a long-term perspective of time or a short-term perspective? Dorie Clark would say it’s way more powerful to play the long game. What might be a new ambition if you were to take a long-term view? If you didn’t have to know how to get there right now?
Time is a construct. It is an illusion that we often falsely understand. How might you create your own perspective on time and start to bend and shape it to support your own Sustainable Ambition?
It’s a fun inquiry as you enter into this last quarter of the year that’s finally starting to feel like it might be morphing into a new normal. As we kick-off into the holiday season, how do you want to manage your time? How can you shape time so that 1 minute feels long? How can you minimize time so you don’t put too much time into something that doesn’t warrant it? What kind of experience do you want to create around activities that take your time? What do you want this time to feel like? What do you want to make time for?
Play with this theme so that you can shift time from being something with negative associations and a sense of grasping for time towards one that’s more positive, playful, and powerful and puts you back in control. Time is an illusion you can shape.
//
Want to sign-up for Sustainable Ambition™ Forum, our newsletter? Join here!