Time is something that we just can’t seem to have enough of each day. Constantly running from one destination to another, rushing from one task to the next, multi-tasking our days away. In Western culture, we view our time as money. We don’t want our time to be wasted because time is something that we’ll never get back. As a woman, time is something that never seems to be on our side. We are told things like “your maturity clock is ticking” or “you have to get married or hit every goal in life before 30”. Sometimes you have to stop and ask yourself, why are we in such a hurry? Why is the race against time seem to be the driving force in life? Why is success gaged by how young you are when you accomplish something?
Over the past couple of months, these have been the questions which I’ve constantly asked myself. Why is it that life seems to be a race against time? As I’ve gotten older, I’ve reflected to my 18 year old self and all the goals I’d set out for myself. My predetermined plans was to work in the job of my dreams by 25, married by 26 (because I didn’t want to be an old mom lol), and life was just going to run smoothly there after. Then reality set in as 25 came and went, and the next thing I knew I was 28 still trying to discover who exactly I was. I looked back and summed up everything I had done in my life as not enough or falling short of my goals because I’m 28, not married with children or working my dream job. As I’ve talked to some of my close friends, we all seem to be hard on ourselves because we are whatever age and getting older, time is passing us by and the goals we have set out for ourselves has yet to be actualized. However sometimes we just have to give ourselves a break. Not everything happens in the manner that we plan them to. Time is not working against us, we are simply just living life as it’s been handed to us.
This constant rush against time to do more and more each day is not a very healthy way to live life. It can lead to stress, anxiety, and a disconnect between mind, body and spirit, causing the need for instant gratification with everything in life. Reasons like this is why people can’t stick to a diet, a workout plan, or any momentary discomfort in life due to not seeing results fast enough. Once we start to realize that time is not working against us but in our favor, our lives will begin to change. When we start to prioritize the things in life that truly matter it will lead to success in the long run. For example, if your goals are to lose weight or eat better however you feel like you don’t have enough time in your day to either workout or cook healthy meals, take a closer look on how you spend the available 24 hours of your day. We all have some kind of daily routine that we have all fallen into whether consciously or unconsciously. If there are areas in your day that are spent on time waster i.e scrolling through social media, watching tv, or any other mindless task that adds no real value to your life, use those times to either exercise, research healthy meals, or plan what your today goals may be. I’ve found that planning for the week to come the previous week by meal prepping, and outlining a detailed grocery list has not only given me peace of mind for the week to come, it also helps to budget my finances much better, cut down the need to eat out, and allotted more time towards other goals that I’ve set out for that week.
I will admit I’ve not quite mastered the art of slowing down and appreciating every moment in the day, however with the addition of yoga and meditation into my life, It’s helped me find a new appreciation of clearing the mind and being at peace with myself. I know I have a tendency to procrastinate and put attention into things that don’t matter, but this is all part of growing up and finding a new sense of appreciation for life. Enjoy every moment that life has to offer the good and the bad.
Not only is being mindful of the time you spend beneficial to living life more effectively, it also helps cut down on the constant overthinking of what your next moves are. Simply enjoying every moment that life has to offer gives you greater appreciation for life’s simple pleasures. You become more aware, mentally present, and gain this overwhelming sense of calmness in your life. Over time, you’ll begin to worry less about circumstances which are out of your control, and focus on the things that matter the most each day.
Life shouldn’t be dictated by how old your getting and constantly overloading ourselves with numerous tasks at once. Just take a deep breath, relax and live life as it’s handed to you. Plan for the things that truly matter, remove meaningless clutter from you life, and just only focus on the goals that will get you where you need to be. You just have to keep in minds that goals are not accomplished overnight. They will take time, persistence and patience to accomplish the things we want. Rushing through life gets you nowhere other than being stressed, worried, on edge, overwhelmed, causing you to constantly overthinking everything. Life is not a race against time, just take it easy and make sure you spend your day doing something that not only brings you joy but adds value into your life.
So true. We put so much pressure on ourselves and like you said try and race against time when life passes us by. Idk how I got to 30 (next week) so fast and its for damn sure where I expected to be. Life is full of plot twists for sure lol
Trust i understand we look back and you realize how old you are and say damn i'm not where i thought I would be by this age. But just understanding that life throws you curve balls that you don't expect when you plan out all your goals. Always keep in mind where you want to get to in the end and focus on that but remember to have fun in the process and not be so hard on yourself