Written by: Christina Marlett, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Your beliefs about time impact every second of every day. In this article, learn why what you think and say about time is far more important than your time management and organizational skills.
In Part 1 of this article, we discussed how if you have underlying negative beliefs about time, no matter how many time management strategies or organizational hacks you apply, you’ll likely still experience stress, worry or anxiety.
However, everything changes when you treat time like your best friend. Since time is a form of energy, the only way you can truly shift your experience with time is to cultivate a great relationship.
Why would you want a great relationship with time? Number one, you’ll dramatically reduce the stress and tension in your life. Number two, you’ll become far more productive with way less effort. Number three (and you may not have even heard of this point), time will give you gifts.
Gifts of Time
Since we’re using the premise that time can be your best friend, consider this. In an epic, loving relationship, there’s an exchange of energy and that can sometimes look like gifts going back and forth.
When I started shifting my feelings, thoughts and words about time in order to befriend it, I noticed something unexpected. I started receiving gifts of time. For example, when my kids were younger, all I wanted to do was go on a date with my husband.
Even though we had lots of family around us, for some reason, it was just really challenging to organize the childcare to get ourselves out of the house to enjoy each other’s company. Either we would have the idea to go on a date but it wouldn’t materialize or we would make plans and something would go awry. It was so frustrating.
Everything changed, though, when I started improving my relationship with time. All of a sudden, grandparents would say to us, “You two should go out. We’ll look after the kids for the afternoon,” and away we would go. It seemed like a miracle; the gift of time.
In my work life, I noticed something similar. There are days when I seem to think I have superhuman capacity and I’ll book in too many clients or accept too many assignments. I might start to feel a little stressed and then a client will say, “I need to reschedule,” and ‒ voila ‒ some time opens up in my schedule. More gifts of time.
Maybe you would also like to receive gifts from time. Here’s what you’ll want to do.
Watch your Thoughts and Words
As you start to develop an awareness about your relationship with time, you might notice that you think or say things about time that are really not what you want to be saying to your best friend.
Think about it: if you said to your BFF, “You know, there’s just never enough of you,” they probably wouldn’t feel very good about themselves. And they probably wouldn’t want to be your friend, either.
Our culture seems to idolize not having enough time. There are countless expressions that essentially put time down, which you won’t want to do anymore in your new friendship.
Here’s your assignment. Notice the thoughts you think and the words you speak about time. If they have the flavour of lack (not having enough), then bring yourself over to the side of abundance, because in truth, all we really have is time. There is more than enough.
If you find yourself saying something like, “Life is short,” pause and reconsider. Personally, I choose to believe that life is not only long, but it’s also wide and deep. Since it’s a choice, why not believe something that makes you feel good?
About Being Busy
Maybe you’re under the impression that you’re very, very busy. Find out if you’re too busy here. Did you know that the word busy essentially means stressed? Do you really want to go around saying and thinking that you’re stressed? I certainly don’t. Instead, I like to say, “My life is exciting!”
Give it a try. See how it feels in your body when you say, “I’m so busy.” You’ll probably notice a kind of contracted sensation. Your shoulders might even slump in defeat. Now try, “My life is exciting!” To me, I feel expansive and lit up on the inside. Plus, if someone asks you how you are and you reply with, “My life is so exciting right now,” a much better conversation will ensue than if you just say the same old, “I’m so busy.”
Once I eliminated the word busy from my vocabulary, my life got discernibly better. Go ahead and give it a try. You’ll notice a difference.
Can you think of any other expressions or thoughts you might use that convey ‘not enough time’? As you become more aware, you’ll notice even the subtle ways that you’ve been living more in lack than in abundance as far as time is concerned.
If any words fall out of your mouth about time that is really just fancy ways of saying there’s not enough of it, go ahead and correct yourself. You might say something like, “If only I had more than 24 hours in a day,” and then you realize that in truth, you have plenty of time to get everything done. You can then say, “Oops, what I meant to say is that I’m going to choose to say no to that for now because I’m practising creating more space in my life.”
See how much more empowering the second option is? Set the intention to become aware of all the ways that you think and speak about time. Then set another intention to make time feel as loved and appreciated as possible with your thoughts and words.
Although it might seem like it won’t make a difference, shifting your thoughts and words about time truly changes everything.
Perfect Timing
Another idea that will help you create more time in your life is to affirm that you have perfect timing. Say it to yourself as often as possible. Tell other people that you have perfect timing. You’ll start to notice that it does indeed become true.
Once I adopted that affirmation, I noticed that I would get to the bank and walk right up to the teller. When I turned around, there would be a long line of people. Perfect timing!
Or I would get to the train station just as it was pulling in. Perfect timing! Or I would be seated right away at a packed restaurant because someone would leave right when I was ready to sit down. Perfect timing!
At other times, it can feel like you definitely don’t have perfect timing, and those are the ideal moments to remind yourself that you can’t see everything that’s going on, so you just have to trust that somehow, your timing is perfect.
Once I had a meeting with a woman who wanted to talk with me about self-care. She was a high-powered lawyer and I was a little nervous to meet with her. Although I left plenty of time to get to her downtown office, there was no parking to be found. I ended up being late after circling the block over and over. It didn’t feel like perfect timing at all. It felt stressful, so I reminded myself that I had perfect timing and I took some deep belly breaths.
When I finally got to her office, it turned out that she didn’t have our meeting on her calendar, but she would be free if I could wait for 10 minutes. Perfect timing after all!
Make Time Your BFF
As you practice tuning into your feelings, thoughts and the words you speak about time, you’re going to notice a shift. First, you develop an awareness of your current beliefs about time and then as you practice the strategies you’ve read about, you’ll feel more and more connected with time.
When you befriend time by using mantras, belly breathing, affirmations and thoughts based in the energy of abundance rather than lack, you’ll create a friendship with time that will leave you feeling more peaceful, calm and nurtured. Time will even start to give you gifts.
You’ll find that you’ll get more done with less effort when you shift your beliefs about time. It’s one of the most effective self-care practices because it truly changes every second of every day.
May you end up feeling like you have more than enough time for all the meaningful things you want to do in your life.
If you have any questions or want to share your results as time becomes your BFF, please use the contact form here.
Want to know if your self-care practices are truly effective or if they’re just adding more stress to your day?Get the free Daily Self-Care Checklist by clicking here.
Visit my website for more info!
Christina Marlett, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine As the creator of Courageous Self-Care, Christina is passionate about helping stressed out high achievers learn to lead their communities, families and themselves from a place of wholeness, overflowing energy and deep self-respect. She excels at helping overwhelmed leaders revitalize their energy from the inside out so that they can be productive and peaceful at the same time. Christina is a certified Embodiment Coach, Body Awake Yoga teacher, Happy for No Reason Trainer, Energy Codes Facilitator and BEST Practitioner who helps you take inspired action so that you have epic relationships, vibrant health and so much energy that people will ask you what you’ve been doing differently.
