A lesson I’ve learned is that people make time for what is important to them.
Too many people lie to themselves when they say, “I don’t have time to work toward my real purpose in life.” Then they make choices every day on what seems important for them to focus on.
For example, the average person spends two hours a day on social media. Adding those two hours up means that person spends 60 hours on social media sites monthly. Now multiply 60 hours by 12 months and you have 720 hours, which equals 30 full days. This means the average person spends 30 days a year watching other people’s lives on social media.
Those 30 days a year would do a lot toward you reaching your dream goal. With those two hours a day, you could learn a new language, start work on that nonprofit you’ve been talking about or find funding to launch your dream business. There is so much you could achieve if you prioritized your time.
You don’t spend time on social media — how about watching sports?
Now I’m a big-time Alabama football fan (Roll Tide) but consider each game is four hours long. That means each month during football season, I’ve spent a minimum of 16 hours watching two teams living out their dreams. Well, what if I spent 16 hours working on my own dreams? What if I chose instead to spend 16 hours reading, studying or practicing my speeches, etc. How much closer to my dream would I be?
Do you see what I’m saying? When you look at your life and you aren’t where you want to be or you feel trapped, don’t look at your environment. Look in the mirror. You are the problem, and you are the solution.
You must make the decision that you are going to prioritize your goals, make a plan and then work that plan.
You have more than enough time to achieve the life you want, more than enough time to get on a path toward greatness. But you have to prioritize yourself and do the work.
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This article was written by Duncan Kirkwood, a bestselling author, veteran and global resilience advocate. He served in the Army National Guard as a master resilience trainer and now trains everyday people to become more resilient, present and purpose-driven. The article was originally published on The Virginian-Pilot.
