The Mindset to Make 86400 Seconds Count!
I often hear people say, "we all have the same 24hrs in each day. The same 24hrs as Beyonce or Jeff Bezos or the Dalai Lama..." and so on and so forth. Well, although everything those people have accomplished is truly inspiring, comparison is never the way to go! My path and my journey look nothing like theirs and that is okay.
There are very few things in life that we have control over (especially now), but we can actively choose to change our mindset to be the most productive we can be. It is not always the easiest choice but it definitely is a choice worth making. (Keep reading for examples).
I feel I am most productive in the early morning but it is so very dark right now in Canada. The sunrise is happening later and the sun is choosing to hide behind variations of clouds, rain, and snow... yes, SNOW! There have been many mornings that I have DECIDED to stay in bed and scroll through Instagram instead of doing something productive like journalling, reading a book, exercising, or answering emails. Why? Because, it's easier. It's warm. It requires very little effort. But, it is also an active choice on my behalf of what is most important to me in that moment. In those moments I am choosing to value my time on social media over other more "logically" valuable activities.
Alternatively, there are days when I wake up and carve out time for the things that are truly valuable to me no matter my circumstances. It always comes back to this dichotomy of Commitment VS. Consumption.
What are the things in life that you are committed to? Business Ideas? Creativity? Wellness? Self-Care? Relationships? Pursuit of goals? Meeting basic needs? Yeah. Me too. But, I was realizing that the way I was using my time throughout the day did not reflect these commitments. I was consuming my time with social media, Netflix, online shopping, just needing to be on my phone, etc.
Here's an example within this past week. I'll show you the difference between choosing commitment over consumption:
Morning of Commitment (Tuesday, October 29th):
5:30am Woke up and read a chapter of "Everything Is Figureoutable" by Marie Forleo
6:00am Devotions and Journalling.
7:00am Emails, emails, and more emails.
7:45am HIIT Workout and stretching while simultaneously doing a load of laundry.
8:15am Cleaning dishes and packing lunch for work.
8:45am Breakfast with Tea.
9:00am Shower and getting ready for work.
9:30am Leave house for work.
Morning of Consumption (Wednesday, October 28th):
6:30am Alarm to wake up snoozed.
7:00am Facetime call from little sister in Bermuda.
7:30am "Just going to snooze a little while longer."
8:30am Scrolling through Instagram.
9:30am Need to get up for Virtual Sessions.
Now, I am not saying that Wednesday morning didn't have value but I definitely could have used my time better. I also was actively making a choice about the things that I was committed to and they didn't exactly align with the things in life that I would like to hold value.
Truth is... some days are going to be more challenging than others when it comes to actively choosing to be committed and aligned with your goals. But you have the power!
There is a quote that says:
"The bad news is time flies. The good news is you're the pilot." - Michael Altshuler
Are you ready for takeoff?
As a bonus treat... here is a playlist with songs that are helping me to be motivated & choose commitment over consumption:
