Are We Running Out of Time?

When was the last time you heard someone say that they didn't have time to do something that they really wanted to do? (What exactly does that mean anyway - "not enough time"?)

If we don't have enough time to do what truly matters to us - what we deem as important - then what do we have time for?

Our lives are filled with multiple choices. There are literally hundreds, if not thousands, of things we could do with our time every day. This, although nice, has really created some big issues for people. A new dilemma in our developed world today is: how do I choose the best use of my time and energy? What criteria do I use to help me determine how I use my time and energy?

I don't know if it really matters to most people. We know how to manage our time. Just pick up a book on time management, and it will be full of all kinds of ideas. We have palm pilots. Daily planners. Computer software. Post-It Notes. All tools designed to help us more effectively manage this thing called time. Yet we still complain that we just don't have time for anything. To me, this indicates that the real issue has nothing to do with TIME, but with what we deem as important and our courage to step forward and live it through time.

What are we doing with our time? As a resource, are we making the best use of it? Has "I just don't have time," become the excuse for mediocrity or stressful living that is easily embraced?

It always amazes me - and I fall prey to this myself - how much time people have to gripe and complain about what's wrong with their lives (is that what is most important to them), but not the time to do anything about CREATING their life the way they want it to be. Interesting, for sure.

In our personal lives I see the ramifications of "not having enough time." We fill our lives with many non-essentials. Things that truly don't fulfill us or edify our lives... Just consider for a moment how many things you - or someone you know - are doing that really don't uplift you? Or inspire you? Or that you even care about?

And on a much bigger picture - a global picture - we are actually faced with the same question. Do we have the time - will we take the time - to step forward and create a more harmonious world that allows for the emergence, the unfolding, of human potential? What IS most important to us collectively as a people on this big blue orb?

I don't know. Maybe that doesn't really matter to most people. And that would make sense. For how can the bigger picture matter when we don't have time for the smaller picture? How can we create a better world for all of us collectively if we can't do that for ourselves individually?

Maybe someday, we'll be sitting around seeing our individual lives coming to a close and still saying, "I just didn't have the time to..." And maybe someday, we'll be sitting around seeing our world come to a close and still saying, "We just didn't have the time to..." And maybe time is running out for us to step forward and decide on what truly matters to us - individually and collectively.

And I can't help but wonder, does this really matter to most people anyway?

It's Time to Give It Up

It seems to me that it's time to give it up. It's time to give up the age-old idea that we are helpless victims inhabiting a planet called Earth. If you look around you, you'll see it on people's faces, and you'll hear it in people's voices and words.

"I had no choice."
"There wasn't anything I could do about it."
"That's just the way it is."
"You can't teach old dogs new tricks."
"Why me?"

And so on.

We are not victims. We have choice. And just as we can choose to be upset with life, we can choose to celebrate it. We are co-creators, and we create with energy, guided by our thoughts and our choices.

"I have a choice."
"There is something I can do about it."
"It can be another way."
"I can learn new things."
"Why not create?"

If someone were to ask me what is the most dangerous thought pattern on our planet, it is that of victimhood. If someone were to ask me what is the answer to our challenges on earth it would be "teach people how to create."

It's time to give it up, this thing we call victimhood. Instead, let's step forward today and create something wonderful with our energy, guided by our thoughts and our choices. What greater thing could there be to do?

In The Land of Abundance We Find...Depression. What's Up With That?

I read an interview today with Gregg Easterbrook, author of THE PROGRESS PARADOX. The paradox is that among the progress we have made as a human race, we find a great deal of depression, instead of increasing happiness. In fact, Gregg reports that clinical depression is about ten times higher than it was fifty years ago.

One of the conclusions: "Stuff" doesn't make people happy.

Once you make enough money to get your mind off of survival, money is no longer seen as a source of happiness. And yet - paradoxically - we see people in a constant pursuit of more, in some strange effort to find happiness through external means. "If I could just get a little more, then I would be happy."

The nice thing about all of our progress is that it has opened doors for us to look beyond survival issues - if we are willing. And to begin to pursue meaning, passion, and purpose in our lives. In fact, this pursuit of meaning and significance is a growing trend across the developed world. And it's not just people seeking meaning in their personal lives. People want meaning at work too.

Personally, I like this trend. It opens up many new possibilities for people. As one who speaks on stress, empowerment, and how to live delibertely, I have noticed people's attachment to stress, problems, and the negatives of life. It's addictive for sure. Stress, problems, negativity all have a way of putting us into the survival mode of existence, and making us feel "alive." It can be quite dynamic, for sure.

What I found interesting about the interview with Gregg Easterbrook is his statement, "there are now millions of people who have the leisure time in which to become depressed." WOW! And you know, I see that with my children. I see how easily they can get bored, and sometimes mildly depressed.

I had someone ask me during a workshop, "If we reduce our problems in life, aren't we going to get bored? What are we going to do with ourselves?" And my answer: CREATE! Live! How wonderful to be free of the survival concerns and of problems! What a golden opportunity to explore new possibilities for our lives! What a great time to get out there and make a significant contribution. When you realize that you are a co-creator on this earth, you won't be getting depressed. Life is about much more than merely surviving - it's about creating!

Meaning. Purpose. Making a difference. It's what people really want deep down. And that doesn't come just by getting past survival mentality - as many of the depressed people will tell you.

In order to live meaningfully and purposefully, we have to learn to live deliberately. We have to stand up. Move forward. And be the best that we can be in service to the world. That's what The Stress-Free Community and my life's work are all about.