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This past weekend we enjoyed some time at our family cottage. I told my wife, this weekend just seemed extra relaxing for some reason. Maybe it was the beautiful breeze most of the weekend off the water, the sunshine, the amount I read in my book, time spent with loved ones with no plans or schedules... Whatever it was, it was great!
I spent Thursday night there (mostly) by myself. Some friends came out for a nice visit and a drink around the fire, as we watched the storms rolling in across the bay. After they left, I continued to sit by the fire watching Mother Nature's light show across the water; Nothing but the sounds of the crackling wood and Mother Nature around me. Though it wasn't long before I had to head inside as the storm rolled in.
With this extra night there, I was catching myself all weekend thinking it was a day later. That's always a nice thing when you realize you have MORE time isn't it?? My Friday lunch time chat with my wife was; "Geeze! We still have 2 more days & nights here to enjoy!"
Love it.
The entire weekend I found that whenever I looked at the time I'd think "Wow! That's it!? There's so much day left!". Another great feeling isn't it?
Yet we're constantly talking about how life just blows by aren't we? The days, weeks and months seem to whip by and by the time we notice, it's almost Christmas party season.
As my cottage weekends, our backcountry camping adventures or some lucky days/weekends typically tend to do, it proves my theory;
WE DO IT TO OURSELVES.
We CREATE the illusion of time FLYING BY.
We ARE our own WORST ENEMY.
LACK OF TIME is the oldest excuse in the book in the health and fitness industry for people not implementing some form of health practice into their days.
Sometimes it's a valid excuse.
Sometimes it's not...
OFTEN actually, it's NOT. Our perceived lack of time comes from many places: -Believing we need an elaborate, long workout session for it "to count" -Choosing to jam our work/personal schedules constantly -Putting everyone and everything else first -Constantly DOING, never SLOWING DOWN and never being "OFF" There are two elements at play here:
1) The CHOICES WE make
2) Our PRIORITIES **An example of the choices we make: Browsing your phone and social media feeds for 30min, 60min or longer at a time... **An example of priorities: Binge watching our favourite show to squeeze in one last episode, sacrificing sleep. We wake up groggy and tired, work all day the next day and wonder why we "don't have the energy or drive to exercise or take care of ourselves"....
We CHOOSE social media or other time sucking elements of in our days as a way to "spend time" and/or "wind down".
We PRIORITIZE our favourite series over a walk, sleep and/or our energy the next day.
We CHOOSE to jam-pack our schedule so we are on the go so much, that the ONLY thing we end up noticing is "where did that month go??"
Anyone reading this, I bet, can relate to what I'm saying. Think of the last time you went on vacation, to a cottage or some place where there were NO PLANS, NO SCHEDULES or TIME CONSTRAINTS. Think back to how the days just seemed (not only relaxing and enjoyable) but never ending. They felt LONG, but in a good way. Time seemed to slow. Why?? Because YOU slowed!!
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How can we make TIME seemingly slow down in this way more often??
Two things need to happen:
1) We MUST prioritize our own HEALTH and WELLBEING above ALL ELSE.
(FYI - It's not a selfish act)
2) We MUST RECOGNIZE our inability to SLOW DOWN.
Only after these two things happen, can we begin to shift our mindset (and schedules) to a lifestyle that seems more relaxed, that feels good and where time isn't whizzing by us at astounding speed.
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