Time

I once attended a seminar where the speaker was telling us to make the most of every minute of every day – live like it’s your last day on earth.

He pushed the point home by showing a large digital clock on the wall and asking us to imagine that the countdown that was showing was our lives ticking away….12 years 129 days 6 hours 5 minutes and 23/22/21/20/19 etc. etc.

It’s an image that has stayed with me.

Most of us live as though we are immortal wasting time on pointless, unimportant issues whilst opportunities to make the most of our time slips through our fingers.

I have taken to writing endless lists to ensure that I maximise my time on earth. I suppose one could argue that lists are a waste of time – but they do help focus your attention and make sure that targets are met and challenges accepted and overcome.

I take each day as a fantastic new opportunity, a gift to be used carefully to the maximum of my abilities. It doesn’t always work out, I might watch a film that’s rubbish or read a book that leaves me frustrated at hours spent on something with little if any positive message. But at least I’ve done what I set out to do.

I think most of us just wander along in a bit of a daze.

Work, eat, sleep, work eat sleep …and repeat. Maybe broken up by a holiday or the odd day out.

But we do spend a lot of our time waiting for the next ‘thing’ that will make our lives whole. Looking forward to stuff all the time instead of just enjoying the moment. I’ve been guilty of this myself – thinking if I had a certain car or a certain watch my life would be fulfilled and that all would be well.

I have now realised that this is not the case. Cars, Bikes, Watches… are all great but they don’t match up to a day spent with family or climbing to the top of a nearby hill and looking down on the world.

Moments shared with loved ones will always top the list of things that I want to do.

I’ve realised that I’ve spent far too much time working and need to back off and enjoy what’s left of my life with my lovely wife and amazing children as much as I possibly can.

Mind you…. I’ve got so many cars ,watches, bikes, clothes ….maybe I’ve just run out of room.

Mike C