Like so many of us, Steve O’Neill wishes there was more time. So he looks for how he can make his time really count.
It’s a facet of life I have zero control over.
Yet I always find myself wishing for more of it: time.
Today is the day that wish comes true. Once every four years we are blessed with 366 days in a calendar year instead of 365. But will this extra time even be of use to me, or will it fall through the cracks going unnoticed and unappreciated?
There is never enough.
This is the belief about time I’ve carried around with me for much of my life. I couldn’t tell you exactly when or how this idea became embedded in my brain, but it’s been the basis of many of the decisions I’ve made in life; good or bad.
The root of this belief lies in the fact that I view time as a tangible entity that I can possess.
“Can you spare a few moments of your time?”
“I wish I could, but I don’t have the time.”
“Just give me 5 minutes.”
Is there a special time bank where you can deposit and withdrawal time, allowing me to give and take it as I please? If so, why the hell hasn’t anyone told me about it?! Probably because my credit score is in the shitter.
I’ve been perpetually overdrawn.
I make a habit of spreading myself to thin. I do my best to cram as much into one day as possible, leaving little to no time to even think about what it is I’m doing. Evidently as long as I’m doing something, then I must be making progress… right?
Similar to money, I often feel that if I only had a little more of it, even a few minutes a day, I could finish additional work, get ahead of schedule, reach my goals and finally find happiness. The most intriguing part about this belief is that we all have 24 hours in a day, so why are others achieving their dreams and I’m falling short? If only I could spend each day using every minute in the manner I desired.
The funny thing is… I have.
There have been whole days where I am fully focused. I completely submit myself to the task at hand, not worrying about what might happen or what I could be doing. My undivided attention is given to the assignment or individual that is directly in front of me. This has led me to discover something amazing:
When I immerse myself in the moment, the quantity of time becomes secondhand to the quality.
I’ve been trying my hardest to embed that simple principle into my brain. But it’s not just because I want to believe it, I know it to be true.
It’s why my 3 months in Europe felt like a year. It’s why lying next to someone I am madly in love with can make the world outside melt away. It’s why hanging out with my best friends is one of the greatest ways to let my worries effortlessly slip into oblivion.
But how can I turn each day into a unique experience?
By appreciating time; enjoying the journey.
Rest assured, it’s not easy, but it’s possible.
Because if we look closer we’ll notice that it’s not actually time that we are giving or taking; it’s our energy and attention. If time is something we can never really possess, then there can never be a scarcity.
There is always enough.
There is time to work, time to play, and time to just be.
Stop trying to control it. I’ve realized the only thing I can control is what I do with the time that is provided to me.
So, instead of searching for more of it, I’m searching for how I can make it better. It’s my most valuable resource; it’s about time I started treating it that way.
Are you with me?
Originally published 366: Is it More Than a Number at hobodrifter.com.