Time speaks louder than words. My friend, Max, got me thinking about this the other day. He was discussing someone in his life who chooses work or going out with other friends over him.
Time is our most precious currency. It is the currency of life. So, how you spend it shows what is important to you. Max is figuring this out.
How about you? Got people in your life like this?
You can insist that your family and friends are the most important thing in your life, but if you are always choosing to spend your life currency on something besides them, your actions tell me everything I need to know.
A friend of mine is always ditching me for work despite making plans – sometimes as much as several months in advance. I told him that his job won’t show up for his funeral. And, if he keeps choosing work over relationships, no one else will either.
I used to be the one who pushed to connect. Now, the onus is on him. It’s no longer worth it to spend my precious currency on him.
And, I’m sure you know someone who truly believes he is spending time with you but is checking social media the entire time he is with you instead.
Time – I believe – is the greatest gift you have. When you spend it with someone, you have given them a piece of your life that you can never reclaim.
Are you spending your currency where you say your priorities lie or are you lying to yourself about your priorities?
I once had a job for which I spent roughly two hours per day traveling between home and work. Then, I had an epiphany. Life is passing, my children are getting older and soon will move out of the house.
Do I really want to continue spending two hours in a car when I could be spending it with them? The answer to that was no.
So, I started my own business with a home office. Interestingly, I got to see more of my kids and I made more money than I had working for someone else. Double win.
Once you truly understand that your life’s currency is a finite, non-replenishable resource, you begin to think about how to use it more wisely. You – rich or poor – have 86,400 seconds per day, but you don’t know how many days you have in total. No one does.
I believe you should spend your time being happy, pursuing your passions, spending time with the people in your life who deserve it, experiencing everything that life has to offer and on loving your friends and family.
What are you spending your time on?
Harry Hoover is an author, content developer, speaker, and publisher of You, Improved. He has written three books: Born Creative: Free Your Mind, Free Yourself, Moving to Charlotte: The Un-Tourist Guide, and Get Glad: Your Practical Guide To A Happier Life, which is available in print, ebook and audiobook formats.