Time is a luxury very few of us have...
I've heard this a few times. It's a great kick starter to that anxiety and wake-up call that gets our motivation flowing. However, I respectfully disagree with the validity of the statement itself. We all have ideally the same amount of time. 5 minutes is 5 minutes. And 24 hours is 24 hours. We all share the unawareness of how long each of our individual lives will be.
Now the message of this statement is to say that how we each spend our time and how we experience time may be different. On that note: it is worthy of investing your time wisely, and being conscious of how you spend it.
Being present means being aware. It means being fully engaged in what you are doing while you are doing it without distractions of multitasking on another project, or thinking about other places or other people. It is being aware of the current moment, tuning in and experiencing it with open feelings to what the opportunity of that moment brings.
With our children, it's applying the best values that you can by choosing to be present, consciously being kind and patient, listening, focusing on the needs or tasks in that very minute.
In what ways, are you not being present? In what areas of your life? How are you not being present at work? How are you not being present with your kids? Or your parents? Or even yourself when it's time to focus on what you need to do to take care of yourself, self-love, self-care, and responsibilities? What about when you are having fun? Or watching a movie/reading a book? Are you present in conversations? Write these down so that you can see what it looks like.
Now when we go back through and visit these areas of your life. Let's now ask, How can you be present in those moments? How can you be present (more attentive, paying attention, listening in and understanding) on phone calls? How can you be present at home, with your partner? How can you be focused when playing and talking with your kids? How about when you are driving? Or walking into work?
What makes you, you in those moments of being present? Who do you want to be? When we focus on what that picture looks like, we can choose to be that person. We can give an agreement to that idea in order to make it become a reality. What do you want people to know or feel about you? What character qualities would you like to have? Are you an attentive and caring good listener in your spousal relationship? Are you a father who makes your kids feel safe to tell you about what is happening in their world and what's on their mind? Are you a mother who is loving and soft and gentle, even after your child makes a mistake or gets emotional? Are you a friend who is cheerful and uplifting?
Decide who you want to be. Start mapping out the details of what makes your personality feel good about who you are and agree with yourself to be that very best, pure version of who you were always destined and meant to be. We can give ourselves the permission to be the person we want to be by giving ourselves some time to reflect on who we are. Your character is an innate part of who you were created to be. What is amazing is that we can also fine-tune and be part of designing our personalities to shine in our greatest qualities. Be you and do your best always.
