Time is Precious

It’s really easy to forget to cherish time in our life. We sometimes get so caught up in focusing on our future goals or becoming fixated on our past, that we forget to just live in the moment and appreciate right now. We’re all guilty of allowing the pressures of life to overpower us because obstacles undoubtedly do get in the way. But It’s time to cherish time and the special bond that we have with it. Don’t allow yourself to take it for granted.

OBSESSING WITH THE FUTURE- We are constantly taught to have goals and focus on the future. Whether it be a 6 week weight loss regime, the job that you’re going to get when uni is finished or even something as simple as cooking something in the oven. What are we doing in all of these examples? focusing on the future. We become so fixated on what the future holds and how the future is going to be ‘so much better’ that we never contently live in the present moment. We are taught to strive for more and forget the moment we’re in. The future is going to happen, it always comes along when you least expect it. But if you spend your entire life striving for the future then you can never actually be happy. Happiness is enjoying the moment that you’re in.

-Instead of waiting for the food in the oven to be ready, learn to enjoy the smell of it cooking.

-Instead of focusing on what happens after university, enjoy the transition and the process of getting there.

-Instead of thinking about how much weight you need to loose or gain, enjoy the process of just becoming healthy.

​-Instead of waiting for the next pay cheque to come through, enjoy the nights in where you haven’t got the money but are with your loved ones.

-Instead of obsessing over what is going to bring you happiness in the future, focus on what makes you happy right now.

-Instead of thinking about when the sun is next going to be out, enjoy the sound and experience of the rain.

 

OBSESSING WITH THE PAST- As well as focusing on the future, we continually obsess over our pasts. We look back and strive to have what we once did. Relationships, memories etc. We somehow tend to teach ourselves that we were happier in the past. This is false. We just forgot to appreciate the past as it was happening to us. Just like we will probably forget to appreciate our present moment now because we’re obsessing over what we didn’t appreciate back then. Appreciate your present moments and you will not ache for the past so badly.

RELATIONSHIPS- We tend to take some relationships and people for granted. When you have conflict with another person, it can sometimes end up ongoing for years because you might not want to damage your pride. On the other hand, you might end up not seeing your loved ones as much anymore, because of life being ‘busy’ and you think that nothing bad will ever happen to that person. That is why when loved ones pass away, a lot of us have regrets and wish we would have contacted the other person a bit more. The sad fact about this, is that a lot of people don’t end up understanding the importance of particular relationships until it’s too late. Don’t allow yourself to have regrets in the future because you didn’t reach out to somebody that you love in time.

EXPERIENCES- We think that we always have all of the time in the world, but we don’t. If there is something that you want to experience or see, then make sure that you don’t hold back. Make sure that you do the things that you have dreamed of doing. We obviously have to go to uni/ work and earn our money, but if there is something in your heart that you desire, stop waiting for the ‘right time’. There is no ‘right time’. There is only one form of time and that is the present moment.

MONEY- Money is one of the main things that can can steal our appreciation of time. If you need to have a certain amount of money in a particular time frame (rent, bills etc), you end up focusing on that end goal instead of the time in between it. Instead of enjoying the time that you have, you use the frame as a pathway to the end goal. It then ends up repeating itself every month until you become stuck in this vicious circle of viewing time as a money making machine. Yes, we all have to pay bills and rent, but we are not put on this Earth to be completely obsessed with making money. It is part of the ‘contract’. The actual ‘job’ is to make memories, share experiences, share knowledge and love. Understand that money is always going to be accessible but time won’t be, then your life will change for the better.
Life goes so quick. You don’t even notice how fast time is going. Enjoy living in the moment and cherish every single moment that you have on this Earth because you deserve to. The future will always be there, but the present will soon become the past. And you will then be looking at it longing for it back.

By Starr Sawyer