Time stands still for no man

We’ve heard this statement a few times in our lives: “time stands still for no man”. How true are those words. Time denotes our existence here on earth, between the dates of our birth to the last day of our life contains a personal history of who we were, how we lived, and what we did with our lives.

“Imagine there is a bank which credits your account each morning with $86,400, carries over no balance from day to day, allows you to keep no cash balance, and every evening cancels whatever part of the amount you had failed to use during the day. What would you do? Draw out every cent, of course! Well, everyone has such a bank. Its name is time. Every morning, it credits you with 86,400 seconds. Every night it writes off, as lost, whatever of this you have failed to invest to good purpose. It carries over no balance. It allows no overdraft. Each day it opens a new account for you. Each night it burns the records of the day. If you fail to use the day’s deposits, the loss is yours. There is no going back. There is no drawing against the tomorrow. You must live in the present on today’s deposits. Invest it so as to get from it the utmost in health, happiness and success! The clock is running. Make the most of today.” - #MarcLevy, Et si c'était vrai..., Vous revoir, édition complète 2 en 1

Time is precious and it goes by far too quickly. It’s up to me to value my time properly and to keep the value of time in perspective. Here’s a great reminder to help me do that:

“To realize the value of ONE YEAR, ask a student who failed a grade. To realize the value of ONE MONTH, ask a mother who has given birth to a premature baby. To realize the value of ONE WEEK, ask the editor of a weekly newspaper. To realize the value of ONE HOUR, ask the lovers who are waiting to meet. To realize the value of ONE MINUTE, ask a person who just missed a train. To realize the value of ONE SECOND, ask someone who just avoided an accident. To realize the value of ONE MILLISECOND, ask the person who won a silver medal at the Olympics.

Treasure every moment that you have! And treasure it more because you shared it with someone special, special enough to spend your time with. And remember time waits for no one.”

Time is something I often take for granted, unless I have some focused purpose for its use.

Many of us are so busy with our work, school, family, friends, and our oh-so-loved "time wasting activities", we become jugglers. Sometimes we juggle tennis balls, flaming torches, or our schedule. At times, it might be easy and we would only have two or three balls to juggle. Even for an inexperienced juggler, it isnsokewhat of an easy thing to do. But, its gets a little harder when we throw in an other ball and an other flaming torch and an other one and an other one (in DJ Khaled voice), we are trying our best not to let the balls fall and not to burn ourselves with the flaming torches. If we are experienced enough, we keep it all in the air. But when we have too much in our hands to handle, a ball falls or we get burnt by a torch by the end of the juggle.

If we succeed, we feel exhilarated – at least temporarily! But more often than not, we are exhausted - until the next round!

I don't always enjoy multitasking. There are times where I am able to to the work I need to do at the same time as the task I want to do while partaking in my "time wasting activity" (like checking Instagram). And as a result of finishing all of my work - sometimes on time, and sometimes late - I feel pretty happy. But, there are times where I realize how much time all these tasks took away from me amd how my time management skills are poor. But, this self-criticism only happens when I am unhappy or unsatisfied with my work.

Throughout the day, I find myself thinking and worrying about the future. But, I don't just worry about the future, I work on my future. It is not necessarily a bad thing. Of course, we have to take care of our future. In the words of Malcolm X: "the future belongs to those who prepare for it today."

But, my mind cannot stay focused on one task. I wonders off. My mind gets sidetracked and I begin focusing on something else. It could be a small thing like checking my Facebook, or it could be somethjng unexpected like getting a call from a client requesting help. So, I add another ball. I also happen to be a magician sometimes when I turn these balls into flaming torches by turning a 5 minute social media break into an hour of "time wasting activity". Sure, I need a break from work. But, I don't these types of breaks are healthy for the mind. Yes, it takes you away from the stress of work. But the mind stays active and you are still not resting. Your mind is stuck in the screen of your phone.

When was the last time you took a break of everything and just sat and enjoyed the moment?

I remember the first time I was truly in the moment. It was back in the summer of 2015 (yes, I was sleepwalking and I wasn't full aware of my own self). I read an article about being in the present moment. Taking a small break from work and just... Being. Being in the present. I was being fully aware of one self, of the body, of the breathes I was taking, of the sun rays hitting my face, of the energy flowing from my head down to my toes back to my body and into my hands and back. At that moment, I was living in the present. I felt synced with time and I was happy to be alive.

After recharging mentally, I went back to work and the day went by great.

But, of course my terrible habits kick in and I went back to my "time wasting activities" and focus on work and trying to balance work and friends and relationships and hobbies... Now, all of these things are great. Don't get me wrong. I love my family, my friends, relationships, hobbies, etc. What killed me were my "time wasting activities". I would often find myself drifting away from priorities and have my work pile up. I thought to myself: "Its OK. Tomorrow, I'll have more time to complete what I haven't had the time to do today." I kept forgetting that tomorrow has its own problems and there is no room for today's leftovers.

I invested my time poorly and have gotten myself in some pretty terrible positions. A song by The Rolling Stones says it best.

"Men, they build towers to their passing yes, to their fame everlasting Here he comes chopping and reaping, hear him laugh at their cheating And time waits for no man, and it won't wait for me Yes, time waits for no one, and it won't wait for me"

Time really does not wait for anyone. And if you are reckless with your time, you will be left behind. I know because it happened to me. I've experienced a lot in life but in the greater sense of things, it was in the same position in life I was close to a decade after leaving high school.

Time is an undefeatable enemy to life. Time is precious because it is running out. While you read this book, your life is ticking by, and you will never get the time back.

Using time effectively means different things to different people. Some would consider time spent with friends and family using their time effectively, while others might find working, creating wealth and building an empire as using their time effectively. We should try to spend every moment of our life enjoying it. So whatever you enjoy doing, do more of it.

We shouldn’t spend too much time regretting the past, otherwise we lose the future. Instead of hanging on past mistakes, build up from them and continue forward.

Although I get upset at times I wasted a good 10 years in my left, I am glad I woke up not too late to realise my mistakes.

Time is valuable. We should make the best use of time, avoid wasting it and always remain conscious of the fact that loss of even a moment is a great loss. Some may not be quite aware of the true value of time, but it is for everyone to know that time has remarkably changed fortunes of individuals, whether it is for the best of the individual or for worst.

Time is too precious of a gift to waste, so we have to make the decision to use the time given to us wisely, and we will not only find fulfillment, but enjoyment in the process.