Common Ground to Grow On
We are all on common ground when it comes to time. We all have an equal amount of it to consume each day. That is a profound statement to be able to see that you are equal to both the rich and the poor.
How you use the time available to you will determine if you become rich or poor. You may argue that circumstance is a greater determinant to your living conditions. However, over time, those circumstances can be changed when you make the effort to change.
So, how is that possible? Consider this, if you accept your condition, your circumstances, then, you will not attempt to make changes. You will let the environment around you determine your growth and your opportunities and your welfare.
Do You Want to Grow?
Do you want to have a better life, a better environment, and more hope for a better future? It all starts with you deciding to make changes.
You can start by taking inventory of your situation. Do you live in a bad neighborhood? Consider moving. Maybe you have restrictions that prevent that. Assess what they are. Be honest with yourself. What needs to change so you can move? More money? Make changes to make that possible.
Are there things that you do not know that you feel a need to know? We have libraries with all the resources that you need to learn. Yes, you must read. Yes, it takes time, but good use of your time. You will learn and you will become smarter and more confident to do more things. Time well spent!
Do you feel weak? Spend time to read how to feel stronger and take action to help you get stronger. Time spent to help you grow!
When We Wander
We can wander around in our use of time and then wonder why things happen the way they do. Or we can choose to do something about it.
Which of these do you think is the more fruitful activity? Remember, this is your choice. I cannot make it for you. You must evaluate your life and what you need to do each day to make things better for you—or not.
Making good use of your free time is what helps to determine if you will become rich or poor, smart, or ignorant, likeable, or unlikeable.
The difference you make for yourself will depend on how you direct your activities each day. You will go in the direction you tell yourself to go. If not, then, you will go in the direction others tell you to go, for their reasons, not your own.
Give yourself direction. Plan so you know where you are headed each day.
Create a Plan
Creativity is scary to a lot of people. However, that is how you will design a better life for yourself.
You must design a plan to meet your needs. Remember, that assessment of your circumstances? Now, you can make plans to make the changes you need to make your circumstances better. Give yourself the right direction to go.
I would like to quote Jim Rohn, who had a simple but direct way of expressing the advice he was given early in life by his mentor, Mr. Schoaff, and what a positive effect it had on his life. He was told, “Nothing will change until you change. Otherwise, the next five years will be just like the last five years.”
Sure, some changes will take some time. Just plan on taking the time it takes.
The key is to make a plan.
Jim Rohn offered some examples:
- If you are not rich, then start a rich plan.
- If you feel bad, then start a feel-good plan.
- If you are not smart, then start a get smart plan.
- If you are a do-nothing person, then start a do something plan.
- If you cannot start, then start a start myself plan.
You will go in the direction you plan to go.
Not Every Day Is Easy to Plan
Excuses are easy to make. We always have one when we don’t do what we were supposed to do.
What was the real reason for not doing what we said we would do? Answer that question and real changes can start to happen. You will learn to do better. You know what needs to change. What caused the problem was a bad habit, perhaps. That can be changed with conscious discipline.
Conscious disciplines, repeated every day, can form good habits, to see you through disappointments, distractions, and other roadblocks to your progress toward your goals, on which your plans are based.
Here we are, back to you. You make things happen by taking care of your time.
Not all days will be easy. Not all plans can be simple. Some things are out of our control and some things take longer than we want to accomplish them.
However, time is still on your side if you take care of it—daily.
Taking Care of Time
Once you learn to value time and what it can do for you, you will be able to make better use of time.
Gaining perspective on what is a good way to use time, to give it value in what kind of activity, and how that use of time will help your life go better, making each day more enjoyable, is a worthwhile undertaking.
Here we are back to you, again.
How will you make use of your time? How will you plan your day? What changes do you need to make? How will you make those changes?
These are just a few questions that you can answer to help you find a purpose for your plans. Then, you can make some useful plans, form some daily disciplines, and learn to make the changes you need to reach your goals.
A Useful Quote for Using Time
Do a lot of reading. We have a lot to learn from many who are willing to share what they learned that might help you in your quest to know more.
In my reading, I came across this quote that relates to the message I am trying to share with you. It comes from Scroll V in the book, The Greatest Salesman in the World, by Og Mandino:
“I will avoid with fury the killers of time. Procrastination I will destroy with action; doubt I will bury under faith; fear I will dismember with confidence. Where there are idle hands, I will linger not; where there are idle bodies I will visit not. Henceforth, I know that to court idleness is to steal food, clothing, and warmth from those I love. I am not a thief. I am a man of love and today is my last chance to prove my love and my greatness.”