success
Managing Time
“Time is what we want most, but what we use worst.” ― William Penn
Time Management can be a rather misleading phrase. While science fiction has been rather fixated on the subject of managing time via numerous ways, like the idea of time travel, not one person on this earth can really manage time. As a human, the only thing that you can hope to attain is to successfully manage your life’s events in the most efficient way possible for you to have adequate time left for other things that you need to accomplish. Time is the one that manages itself, in every sense of the word.
Was there ever a time in your life when you wished for more time? Did you ever want time to pass even more quickly? There are instances when time seems to fly while on other times, it seems to be dragging. You often hear people complaining how their time at school or work is dragging, while the holidays just pass by all too quickly.
These illusions are merely the effect of how a person reacts to different emotions and environments because whether you like it or not, nothing will change the fact that one day is always composed of 24 hours, no more, no less.
According to research, once the human brain is engaged in numerous activities, it experiences a reduction in the ability to notice how time passes. Conversely, when your brain has less stimulation, it tends to focus on keeping tab on time passing.
Time management is almost as good as safeguarding your money. You protect your money, aiming to use this in the wisest way possible and avoiding any waste. You budget. You balance the money you earn with the money you spend. And just like money, your time is also a limited but valuable resource. This means that the skills that you will need for managing your time is the same with those required for money management to be successful – planning, management, as well as self-control.
By learning good skills in time management, you will have better chances of controlling your time, with the primary goal of improving your life. Furthermore, this improvement must reduce the levels of stress in your system and heighten your energy levels. Through proper time management, you can maintain or come up with the perfect balance between your family, personal and work life while still possessing the flexibility of responding to new opportunities or surprises.
Everyone Has Their Strengths
Saying that everyone has some kind of unique strength might sound like the sort of soppy nonsense you’d get on a motivational poster but it also just so happens to be true.
While we can all feel a little useless at times, no one is in fact completely without unique talents or abilities that set them apart from the pack and it’s important to realize this so that you can go about maximizing your own abilities and using them to your advantage.
Strength as a Strength
A good way to demonstrate this reality is with an analogy. In this case that analogy is going to be particularly apt – we’re going to look at strength as being a strength.
So imagine the biggest and strongest person you can think of – perhaps Arnold Schwarzenegger in his heyday, or maybe Ronnie Coleman if you know your bodybuilders. Now imagine how big and powerful that person would look standing next to Woody Allen… No contest right?
Except it may in fact be that in some ways Woody Allen is stronger than Arnold Schwarzenegger. Let’s say for instance that Woody can wiggle his ears whereas Arnold can’t. Or perhaps another example might be that Woody is a faster talker… and as such has a stronger tongue.
These are muscles – and even though it might not seem it this means that in at least one area someone smaller can be physically stronger than someone massive.
What This Means
So what does all this mean from the perspective of strengths as abilities and skills? Well put simply, it means that even when you don’t feel like you have any clear strengths above your colleagues, friends or the average Joe, you probably in fact do.
Even if that strength is something that you’re good at simply because you have such a unique blend of other skills and abilities. Maybe you’re a little bit good at a random selection of things, or perhaps you have some very unique experience when you combine your school career with what you did in your second job.
All of us are a unique melting pot of different skills, experiences, interests and hobbies… and as a result we all have completely unique sets of abilities and strengths that we bring to the table. Even if you don’t think your skill or strength is something ‘conventional’, that’s still something that just you have and that you shouldn’t underestimate the value of!
Goals Can Give You Purpose And Direction pt2
The next time you feel like you’re in a rut, try setting and pursuing some goals. They don’t have to be outlandish, and you want them to be obtainable. Keep working on them until you complete them. Create a journal to track your progress and get whatever help you can to motivate you. Once you see what is possible by setting goals, you will find you can accomplish just about anything.
You can’t stop the situation of getting into a rut, but you now have a way of getting out of it. You just have to figure out what you want to pursue and set up a plan to make it happen. Then, it’s simply a matter of following that plan.
And don’t give up on the plan; in fact having a well defined plan with pre-determined goals will ensure you have the best chance of success in your endeavours so go NOW and take some action!
Goals Can Give You Purpose And Direction pt1
It’s very common for people to get to a point in their lives when they ask why they are doing what they are doing. It could be the career choice they made and wanted a change, or it could be something personal that is simply not working out as they had hoped. This is referred to by many as being stuck in a rut. Without any changes, it can be difficult to get out of this rut. One way out of this rut is to set some goals. This may help you find a sense of purpose.
When you lay out a plan, you can take a bird’s eye view of your possible paths. This creates an energy within that helps you carry out your plan. It gives you something to look forward to which can give you a sense of purpose. Having that helps you motivate and keep on track.
During the period of reaching for your goals, you will have good days and bad days. The bad days may even make you feel like throwing in the towel and forgetting the whole thing. This is natural and you need to refer to your goals to help you keep going. Family and friends can help to encourage you as well. Reach out to them when you feel like you want to quit.
The good days will get you pumped and will show that you are getting close to your target. Meeting milestones for your goals will solidify this experience as it gives you something to check off when completing the task. The more you pursue your goals, the more you will have these feelings of accomplishment which help show you a sense of purpose.
Leaving Your Comfort Zone (continued)!
Another aspect of going outside of your comfort zone is the head rush that many people experience when it happens. For instance, if you have ever tried skydiving, you would know what this is about. The fear is definitely there, but the exhilaration is what brings people to do it over again. Of course, it won’t be right for everyone. But if you do get hooked, think about that the next time you are looking to try something new. If you don’t go for it, you won’t get that extraordinary feeling.
This doesn’t just work for risky sports. It can be for other experiences like taking on a new career or starting a new business. These activities may not give you the instant head rush as those risky sports. But they can give you a feeling of exhilaration that lasts for a longer term basis.
People will never push forward if they don’t try something that they are not comfortable with. This is why it’s called the comfort zone and is why it is used as a reference to breaking through. It may not work as you planned but you will learn something at any point of the journey. They will likely be experiences that you can tell your grandkids about which may leave them awestruck. There is nothing more powerful than that!