Happy New Year people! I hope you are all looking forward to this year and what you can achieve out of it! In today’s blog I want to talk about the power of time, and how it can help us to find clarity and become more self aware.
Three weeks ago I had my long overdue achilles tendon repair surgery, and since then I haven’t been very mobile for obvious reasons. This time with myself has led me to do a lot of thinking. Thinking such as: goals and targets for 2023, what I want from life, and my biggest priorities right now. I, as well as most people, am always in a rush. We’re in a rush to get things done and we’re always looking ahead to what’s next. This is not a terrible problem as we should live life with urgency, the clock is always ticking and we must take action if we want to achieve. But there’s always more to things than meets the eye ..
Rule your circumstances
My current predicament has led me to start taking each day as it comes, whilst keeping one eye on the future. Instead of focusing on the distant future and what I want to be doing, I’m focusing on how I can heal safely and properly. By being inside and not physically fit I’ve had to focus more on the present than ever before. I’m pleased to say that this is proving to be really beneficial during this time because of one question that I ask myself each day: “what can I do today in my current circumstance, to ensure that I have a great day and move closer to my goals?” We’ve all heard about the power of being present and why it’s so important to happiness, but it’s hard to know what or how to do that, isn’t it? I believe the answer is in that exact question: “what can I do today in my current circumstance, to ensure that I have a great day and move closer to my goals?”
A greater vision
This time at home has also led me to find more clarity and what I want from the future. After I left China I felt like I was in a crossroads position in life; I had just returned home and was focused on treating my achilles, but was unsure about what I wanted to do after that. And as most people do I was searching and searching for the answer but to no avail. Then I came across something brilliant. The following is a quote which showed me the true power of time:
‘Whenever you get the feeling of not knowing what to do, just wait. Don’t do anything’
Sayadaw T
I’m all for action, I want to get things done and live the best life I can live, facing fears and chasing dreams. But how can you take action if you don’t know what to do? I found myself wearing myself out mentally, chasing a rabbit that I couldn’t catch. Why? Because I didn’t know which one to catch! However once I started to not do anything, the answers came to me. This is the true power of time!
Therefore this is something that I want to stress; it’s fine to not know what to do. Challenges are part of life. There will be times when we don’t have much clarity, times when we feel boxed in. However once we give ourselves and our thoughts the time to work their magic, the answers will be revealed. Stay patient but live with urgency! Trust the process.
Thanks for reading,
Tony.
