“Until you value yourself,
you will not value your time. Until you value your time, you will not do
anything with it.”
-
M. Scott Peck
Until you realize your own
value, you will likely never be thankful for the moment in which you find
yourself. The present is all that truly exists. In linear time, the moment
referred to as the present is simply the bubble of time surrounding the
universe as the future is being constantly converted into the past. When you
realize your potential and come to an understanding that today will never come
again, your view on how you manage your time will change forever. Your life’s
mission can only be achieved by you. To live a purpose driven life is one of
the most fulfilling experiences a person can ever hope to achieve. Purpose
gives your life meaning. When your days have meaning, then your time becomes
precious to you. When you realize just how precious every moment is, then you
will become increasingly thankful for each minute of the day. The sheer
magnitude of how crucial your time management skills are only has an impact on
your life once you come to the realization of the perishable nature of your
existence. This realization has a direct correlation to the quality of your
life and your own ability to achieve your life’s mission and purpose.
How you view and value
yourself affects every aspect of your life. From your views on diet and
exercise to your self care habits, if you value who you are, then your life
will be a product of those values. If you have a low self-esteem, then you may
end up not taking very good care of yourself. However, if you believe that your
life’s mission is important and that you are a valuable asset to those who
depend on you, then you will view your time through a different lens. Suddenly,
things that seemed uninteresting will take on an enticement that you never
before realized. Your mental focus and energy levels will increase and your
motivation will reach new heights. When you value yourself, you will value your
time. When you value your time, then you will choose to spend it in impactful
and meaningful way. Such recognition of the value of your time and
implementation of positive time management habits will help you create a vision
for your life’s purpose.
Value Yourself
“The man who does not value
himself, cannot value anything or anyone.”
-
Ayn Rand
Value yourself. What a
powerful statement. Many people who are reading this right now do not value
themselves. How a person spends their time, takes care of their physical body
or allows others to encroach on their respective boundaries speaks volumes
about the value they place on themselves. The fact is no one will respect you until
you respect yourself. Value your time. Honor you physical and mental health. If
necessary, force others to comply with your boundaries. No doubt, the people in
your life will push you hard to back down time and time again. However, once
you demonstrate a sustained commitment to your morals, values, boundaries and a
continuous implementation of self-respect in your own life, then others will learn
to respect the new you and abide by the rules you set for them.
To be clear, this will not be
easy. In some ways, this may well be the most difficult thing you have ever
done in your entire life. Depending on your situation, you may be fairly close
to achieving this already. However, I suspect that many more are in a position
in which self-respect and enforcing boundaries are as strange a concept as
leaning a foreign language. Being thankful for the value that you have as an
individual will revolutionize the way you perceive the value of each moment. One
thing is certain; until you establish your boundaries, respect yourself and
realize the immense value that you bring to the table, you will never truly value
your time.
Value Your Time
“A man who dares to waste one
hour of time has not discovered the value of life.”
-
Charles Darwin
We all get roped into doing
things that we initially did not agree to do. Such eventualities are not
uncommon events in interpersonal relationships. However, you are the architect
of your personal calendar. You have the power to change this immediately and
nip this trend squarely in the bud. Until you empower yourself to change, you
will be powerless to live a purpose driven life. Conversely, there’s nothing
wrong with doing volunteer work for a cause that you are passionate about,
serving at your local church or helping a close friend or family member with a
special project here and there. However, if you are constantly expected to do
things that you did not sign up to do at another person’s whim, then you and
only you can put a stop to it.
Once you value your time,
then you will come to realize that your life’s purpose has taken a back seat to
all the things that you do for others. Similarly, large chunks of your waking
hours spent wasting time will be a thing of the past. Once you realize your own
value and acknowledge your life’s purpose, then you will appreciate how much
more could be accomplished by shifting your priorities regarding effective time
management.
Create a vision for your life’s purpose
“Gratitude makes sense of our
past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.”
-
Melody Beattie
Now that you are learning the
value of yourself and your time, the next piece to the puzzle will be to allow
your thankfulness of the time you do have to create a vision for your life’s
purpose. Chances are, you already have an idea of what your life’s mission or
purpose is to be. I find that most people are able to self-discover their true
purpose in life when another individual asks insightful, probing questions
about their past and present life experiences. Conversely, many others believe
that they know their life’s mission only to discover later that they are simply
leading the life that is expected of them by their family, friends or
significant other. It’s possible that some reading these words today were
coerced into a certain profession or lifestyle by their parents, siblings or
childhood friend. It’s never too late to re-discover the true purpose that you
are meant to live out for the remainder of your days. There are few things in
this world quite as fulfilling as living a purpose driven life. In order to
self-discover your purpose, you must intimately know yourself. Once you are
fully thankful for each moment and truly begin taking control over how you manage
your time, then this self-discovery will come as a result. The reason being,
your own personal values will dictate what you choose to spend time on each
day. Those things that do not closely align with your values will rarely make
the to-do list or appear as events on your calendar. In effect, you will teach
yourself your own values by how you choose to spend your time. The power of
thankfulness in your life will be the catalyst for your effective time
management, discovering your life’s purpose and your own personal happiness.
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