Time is the single most valuable asset in this world,
But you can't buy it.
You have plenty of it,
Yet it is the one thing that is absolutely limited.
Everyone,
Literally everyone on this planet will one day run out of time.
So how can you build a value system around time that solves you?
How can you forget about time and live in the now,
All while it's planning long term?
So today we're looking at the concept and the value of time.
We will try to find out how it can serve you to allow yourself to waste time without losing appreciation for it.
Our goal is also to become more conscious of the time you have available to you and how you can be totally present in anything you do.
Khalil Gibran said,
Yesterday is but today's memory and tomorrow is today's dream.
So let us learn how to dream without ignoring our memories.
Now,
I know philosophy often questions what time actually is.
Is it linear or circular and so on?
I will not investigate what time actually is today,
But rather how thinking about and relating to time can serve you and make you more happy.
Today I would like to challenge your mindset around time.
Furthermore,
I would like to invite you to become more conscious of when your thoughts are either in the past,
The present or the future.
All three of these have value,
But they need to be experienced in a healthy balance.
If your mind stays too long in any one of them,
You will get unbalanced.
It is beneficial to become aware of where your thoughts are most of the time.
Is it the past,
The present or the future?
Raising your awareness of the quantity of time you spend in each of the three will allow you to control your choices better.
Now,
What does it mean that your time is limited?
In a study with people who were about to die,
They were asked what they regretted the most.
Almost everyone said,
I wish I would have spent more time with my beloved.
Almost all of them were regretting not spending time the right way.
This makes you understand time's humongous value.
You can't get it back.
You can't buy it back.
You can't relive moments.
The only thing you can do is grow and mature.
Please understand the value of your time.
Now,
There is something a little unfair,
Which is that you never really know how much time you have left.
You might have a very realistic idea,
But you will never know for sure.
When understanding this uncertainty,
The current mechanisms that you should work for 40 years non-stop in order to enjoy the rest of your life afterwards might then not be the best idea.
You can never know how much time you and other people have left.
I'm not saying you should jump to an extreme and only live for today,
But I am saying it is worth your time to explore a healthy balance.
Don't get lost.
Create a life that is worth your time every single day.
This brings us to our next point,
Which is how to respect and appreciate time.
Why is it that people say time is the biggest teacher of them all?
It is actually not really time that teaches you.
It is the distance from an experience created by time that teaches us.
Distance is what allows you to objectively look at an event or a person in completion without drowning in subjective details.
Also,
The accumulation of experiences over time is what allows you to grow and mature and to trust that life is worth living.
You experience moving on,
You experience light after the dark,
You experience not making the same mistakes twice,
And you experience sadness and joy.
So it is making time for your experiences that allows you to become more mature,
Develop your personality and live a life that serves you.
Now,
Another sentence you hear a lot is it takes time.
And that sentence is important.
Think about this course for example.
One of the most important things is for you to take your time.
You could rush through this course in a month,
But you gain from it would be extremely limited.
It takes time to absorb,
Develop and learn.
Accepting and respecting time will motivate you to use it wisely and to be patient when patience is needed.
Now let's talk about being present and planning long term.
There are opposites in a way,
But I would like to invite you to not compare them.
Don't try and find out which one is better.
Think about it more as an invitation to become more aware of which one is more dominant in your life and also what mindset can serve you at which times.
Both being present and planning ahead have their place and you being more conscious of them will align you naturally.
So what does being present actually mean?
Being present means your thoughts and feelings are anchored around the things and people in your immediate and current surroundings.
And this state of mind is extremely important because it is the only state of mind that allows for joy.
Because it is the only state of mind that allows for real connections to be experienced.
Being present also automatically allows you to be less sad because most origins of sadness lie in the past.
Being present also allows you to be less anxious because most origins of anxiety lie in the future.
Hence being in the present is the only state of mind that allows for true happiness to be experienced.
And that is very important to understand.
Now let us talk about the future.
Planning long term is important because it allows you to be on the right life path.
If you think about where you want to end up in the future,
Most likely you will not aimlessly float around in the present.
You will live a life with purpose and be motivated to go in a direction that serves you.
So go ahead and plan your future.
Now here is one crucial tip I want to give you when it comes to the future.
Only plan things that are specific,
Achievable and time constricted.
This will allow you to immediately start actioning your plans.
And once you are in the process,
Your mind is immediately in the present again.
You start to see how the past,
The present and the future can go hand in hand.
Now if you were to plan for something less specific to happen in the unknown future,
Then this would have a negative effect on you.
This is because you will subconsciously know there is something to do,
But there is no specific action attached.
This uncertainty will drain you and will make you hesitant.
So again,
Be specific when planning ahead.
By the way,
Planning long term does not only mean working towards buying a house and improving your career.
It also means investing in and creating time for personal development and growth.
Doing this course is already a great example for that.
Now I want to give you a little tip when it comes to planning for the immediate future.
The question I always ask myself is,
What is the most likely outcome?
For example,
You can eat a piece of cake before dinner,
But then what is the most likely outcome?
Most likely you will enjoy it,
But you will also not be hungry for dinner anymore.
As a human,
You have the capacity to compare experiences before they even happen.
This is by the way one of the major differences between humans and other animals.
Make the most of it.
It is a powerful tool.
Now let us come to the practical exercises for today.
I would like to invite you to write down moments from your life when you were a.
Very clearly thinking about the past,
B.
Being in the present,
And c.
Thinking about the future.
Find three moments each,
Nine in total,
Where you have complete clarity as to where your thoughts were predominantly.
For example,
When you had a breakup and you were lying on your sofa crying,
Your thoughts were most likely in the past.
When you enjoyed the taste of the delicious coffee this morning,
Chances are you were in the present.
Your thoughts in the work meeting about long-term strategies were most likely in the future.
Pause the course now and come back when you have found three examples each.
Now I would like you to write down thoughts about how these moments served you and what parts didn't.
Start with the quantity.
Did you stay in any of the moments too short or too long?
What other observations do you have around these nine moments?
Would you do something differently now?
Again,
Pause the course and write down your observations.
In the next few days or during this week,
I would like to invite you to become more conscious of when your thoughts are in the past,
The present,
Or the future.
Try not to judge your state of mind,
Just try and become aware of it and see how that makes you feel.
A few times each day,
Check in and see where you are at with your thoughts.
How present are you?
Please make a calendar entry now for when you will continue this course.
It can be in a couple of days or a week,
But please set a reminder now so that you will stay on your path.
