STOP saying “I don’t have time” instead try it’s not a priority and see how you feel.
How often do you find yourself saying “I just don’t have enough time!”? I’ve heard this excuse a MILLION times and I’ve even used it myself! But ultimately, if you want something bad enough, you will make time for it. When you turn your SHOULDS into MUSTS, magic happens.
“I just don’t have enough time.” It’s more common than the common cold nowadays. Not having enough time isn’t the issue. As we always have time for the things we deem important. If it’s important we will find a way, otherwise, we will find an excuse.
The truth is we all have the same amount of time in a day: 24 hours or 1,440 minutes. In fact, you have exactly the same amount of time that was given to Helen Keller, Michelangelo, Mother Teresa, Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, Steve Jobs and Bill Gates. How you choose to spend your time is what will set you apart from everyone else.
It’s time to get real about your priorities. It’s never a question of how busy are you. It’s a question of how important something is to you. The accurate expression is “I chose to prioritize other things.” This simple change of expression creates one very powerful aspect — accountability. I read an article in the Wall Street Journal that suggested we replace the phrase, “I don’t have time” with “It’s not a priority.” Instead of saying, “I don’t exercise because I don’t have time,” try saying, “I don’t exercise because it’s not a priority.” So, “I eat fast food because I don’t have time to cook healthy meals,” becomes, “I eat fast food because cooking healthy meals isn’t a priority.” kinda changes things doesn’t it? Realizing that you have the same amount of time as everyone else but that you make the choice as to how to prioritize this time instantly changes your mindset from an excuse to an opportunity. You become accountable as to how you utilize your time.
Anyone who says they are ‘too busy” is really saying, you’re not worth my time.
If you are someone, however, who honestly feels like you don’t have enough time to accomplish the things you want to accomplish then get a notebook and track how you spend your time for a day. How much time do you spend watching TV? How much time do you spend on Facebook, or on YouTube, or Instagram? You’ll be surprised at the amount of time you spend on these activities and away from your friends and family and passions. I’m not suggesting giving up those doing those things, but awareness of where your time vampires are will help you win the war on time.
The question comes down to which is genuinely more important to you, building a business, learning a new language or whatever it is you want to achieve or checking to see how many likes you got on a recent post?
Once you have the drive and the desire, and you totally commit yourself to the process, it is almost as though the whole universe conspires to make it happen.
I know how hard and discouraging it can be. I am a single mom to a 14.5 year-old boy and I’ve built a company from the ground up, alone. So I know all about responsibility. I know all about wanting to shut is all down and just turn off everyone else’s problems and just get lost in Netflix and wine. But time is malleable and it can be stretched, it accommodates committed souls and whatever we choose to put into it.
Now, your new life will cost you your old one. But, today is the right time to replace “I don’t have time” with “It’s not a priority.” watch how quickly things fall into perspective.
To your success!
