Take Time Seriously

Take Time Seriously

I will be 55 years old in a few short months, and I know time is passing.  I say this with an awareness that I did not have when I was younger.

When my children were little, my mom would tell me how quickly the years would go by. At the time, the days did not always felt so slow. Some days were long because there were meals to make, laundry to do, children to run places and teach, work to finish, bills to pay, and a home and family to take care of.

I was busy living those years, so I could not fully understand what she meant. But she was right.

The years passed so quickly.

My children are now 34, 31, 22, and 20. I am a grandmother of four. I spent more than twenty years raising and homeschooling children, building a family, working, and doing what needed to be done each day. Sometimes I look back and wonder how those little children became adults so quickly. Time was moving even when I was too busy to notice it.

Now, at 55, I understand my mom’s words in a completely different way. I also understand that there are still things I want to do, people I want to spend time with, dreams I want to build, and a life I want to keep creating.

Time is one of the few things in life that none of us can control, replace, or get back. Yet somehow, it is often the thing we take for granted the most. We assume there will be more of it. More time to make the call, more time to visit our parents, more time to sit with our children and grandchildren.

More time to take the chance, change the habit, start the business, write the book, take care of our health, or finally begin living the life we keep talking about.

But who promised us tomorrow?

I say this because sometimes we need to be reminded that today is not something to simply get through. Today is part of our life, this is the only time we actually have.

Stop Waiting to Feel Ready

There are so many things people put off because they are waiting to feel ready. They are waiting for the perfect circumstances, more confidence, more money, fewer responsibilities, or a sign that it is finally the right time. They tell themselves they will begin when life slows down. But life does not usually slow down on its own.

There will always be something that needs our attention. There will always be another responsibility, another unexpected situation, and another reason we could use to wait.

Most of the time, confidence does not come before we begin. Confidence is created when we begin. Consistency creates confidence. You make the call even though you are nervous, you take the first step even though you cannot see the entire path, you change one habit even though the rest of your life is not perfectly organized, you spend time with the people you love even when your schedule is full.

That is how change starts. With small decisions made consistently.

How You See Yourself Affects How You Use Your Time

Self-perception is how you think and feel about yourself. It affects your relationships, your work, your health, your habits, and the decisions you make with the time you have been given.

When you see yourself as someone who is incapable, too old, too busy, too far behind, or not ready, you will continue waiting. And frankly, that is who you become. You will keep finding reasons why now is not the time.

At 55, I know I do not have all the time in the world, but that does not mean my best days are behind me. It means I am more intentional about the days in front of me.

There are things I understand now that I could not have understood at 25, 35, or even 45.

Age has given me perspective.

It has taught me that I do not want to spend my time trying to please everyone, worrying about every what-if, or staying in places, relationships, and situations that I already know are not right for me. It has taught me the importance of making the call, saying what needs to be said, and being present with my people.

When you begin to see yourself as someone who can continue to learn, grow, change, and take responsibility for the direction of your life, your decisions begin to change.

You stop asking, “What if I fail?”

You start asking, “What happens if I never try?”

You stop waiting for someone else to give you permission. You stop living as though your real life will begin at some point in the future. Your life is happening now.

Do Not Miss the People While Chasing the Schedule

I am fortunate to still have my mom and dad in my life. We talk every day. My mom is my best friend, my cheerleader, and one of my people. My dad is too.

As I have gotten older, I have become even more aware of how valuable that is. We can become so focused on everything that needs to be accomplished that we forget to notice who is beside us while we are accomplishing it.

There will always be another email to answer, another room to organize, another goal to reach, or another task waiting for tomorrow. But the people we love will not always be sitting at the same table, living in the same house, or available for the call we keep saying we will make later.

Make the call, plan the visit, take the picture, sit a little longer, listen to the story you may have already heard ten times.

Tell people you love them while you have the opportunity. You do not need to wait for a holiday, birthday, emergency, or perfect occasion to spend time with your people. I have learned that the ordinary days are the days that become the memories.

The Work Nobody Sees

People often notice the final result, but they rarely see the work that created it. They do not see the mornings I got up early when I did not feel like it. They do not see the habits I changed, the distractions I removed, the boundaries I created, or the decisions I made when nobody was watching.

They do not see the years I spent raising children, caring for a family, building something from the ground up, or beginning again when life did not go according to plan. They do not see the moments when I had to remind myself that yesterday was gone and today was day one again.

That is the work nobody sees is also where your life begins to change.

Proof over promises.

You can promise yourself that you will start next week, next month, after the holidays, when life slows down, or when you feel more motivated, or you can give yourself proof today.

Proof that you are willing to make the call, proof that you are willing to take care of your body, proof that you are willing to protect your time, proof that you are willing to stop spending your life in places, situations, or relationships that drain you, proof that you are willing to begin.

Stop Putting Your Life on Hold

Taking time seriously does not mean living in fear or rushing through every experience. It means being present enough to recognize that your time matters. Understanding that rest matters, your health matters, your dreams matter, and the people you love matter. It means no longer treating your own life like it can wait forever.

Tell people you love them, spend time with the people who matter. Stop holding grudges a nd pay attention to the people that stay by your side through the good and not so good. 

Take the trip when you can and ask the questions. If you do not have your health, you do not have anything, so pay attention to that first.

Change the habit that you already know is keeping you stuck. Stop trying to convince yourself that the choices you make today will not affect tomorrow. Because they do.

Slow Down Before Life Makes You

There is another part of taking time seriously that many of us do not want to talk about.

If we never choose to slow down, life often finds a way to slow us down for us. And usually, it does not happen in circumstances we would have chosen. It may come through exhaustion, illness, an injury, burnout, a family crisis, a loss, or something completely unexpected that suddenly gives us no choice but to stop. I have been there, and I am sure you have too.  When this happens, I look inward, not outward.  What do I need to pay attention to? 

We tell ourselves we are too busy to rest, too busy to take care of our health, too busy to spend time with the people we love, or too busy to deal with what we already know needs our attention. Then something happens, and everything else becomes unimportant very quickly.

The things we thought could not wait suddenly have to wait. Don’t live life expecting something bad to happen, pay attention before life has to get our attention for us.

Slowing down does not mean giving up on your goals or becoming less productive, it means being present enough to notice your life while you are living it, resting before your body demands it. (This one took some hard lessons for me to get)

It means taking care of your health while you still have choices, making the appointment you keep postponing.

Call your mom, sit with your children and grandchildren, and spend time with your people before circumstances decide how that time will be spent.

But not everything that feels urgent is important, and not everything important will wait forever.

Sometimes the strongest and most responsible thing you can do is stop, breathe, look around, and ask yourself whether the way you are spending your time matches the life you say matters to you. Do not wait until you are forced to slow down to realize what you should have made time for all along.

Thirty Days Can Change Your Direction

The 30 Day Self-Perception Makeover is not about becoming an entirely different person in thirty days. Growth happens throughout our entire lives.

I am still learning,  I am still growing, I am still curious, I am still looking honestly at myself, my habits, my decisions, and how I use my time.

But if we do not make changes, things stay the same. Thirty days gives you a place to begin. It gives you time to look honestly at how you see yourself, how you speak to yourself, the habits you repeat, the ones that move you forward and the ones that hold you back. You begin noticing where you have been holding yourself back.

Thirty days of intentional choices will change your direction.

One new habit can change your morning, one honest conversation can change a relationship, one decision can change the direction of your business, one phone call can reconnect you with someone you love, one step can remind you that you are not stuck.

Use Today Well

I know time is passing. I can see it in the ages of my children, I can see it in my parents, I can see it in the grandchildren who are now creating new memories of their own,  I can feel it in how differently I value my health, my family, my work, and the time I have left to make a difference.

I cannot slow time down, but I can decide how I use it, and so can you.

I am not afraid that time is passing, I am letting that awareness bring me back to the present. It reminds me to stop waiting for the perfect moment and use the moment I have.

So I make the call, take the chance, say, “I love you.” Change the habit, I spend time with my people.

Today is the time I  actually have, and I intend to use it well, and I hope you do too

Tomorrow was never promised.