It might sound strange, but if smoking takes five minutes of our lives away, it is still not as bad as not being able to properly utilize our time. The biggest crime that we can possibly commit to ourselves is letting time get away on useless pursuits. The very first step to correcting this major error is awareness of our true current habit.
We get a choice on where to live, either get a large house two hours away from work, or a tiny little hole 10 minutes away by walk. The 10-minute walk is more beneficial, thus, 10 minutes well spent, rather than two hours driving to some far-off location just because we want to live in a palace. Not only did we waste away two hours of our lives per day, we are also contributing more pollution to the environment, this still does not include cost of fuel, which comes from our work. That money could have been used elsewhere.
And if this simple math is not enough, consider this; our choice of what to watch on TV will also determine whether or not our time is properly utilized. While entertainment is beneficial in keeping our psychological side recharged, getting overdependent and over indulged in television and movies with mind-numbing programs will mean more time wasted on useless pursuits. Rather than spending time in front of the television, try some games with family and friends, or choosing TV programs that are intellectually stimulating while being enjoyable as well. Many documentaries can provide this. For those who want to also add in spirituality, this is another good way to do so.
Making wise decisions can be habit- and lifestyle-changing; by choosing unproductive decisions, we actually let go a large part of our lives in stagnating laxity, which could have been further used in other activities. Many facets of our lives, such as social, environmental, economic, family, health, grooming, intellectual, spiritual and many other facets, all need to be balanced out. Any skew will lead to inefficiency, thus meaning we are not fully realizing our true potential.
Through our intellectual capability to constantly learn and our ideas of socialization, we are all capable to help spread and evolve life as we know it. We gain insight from the past, digest it, and see how it relates to our own lives, causing deeper understanding, which thus gets spread to others. This healthy way of disseminating information will help grow our own insight from other opinions as well. This facet of our life is just as vital.
The best way to make the most of our lives is to draw up a daily chart and take down everything we do. We should ask ourselves, where are my unproductive points? How can I make them productive while enjoying myself? Are my activities beneficial to me and to everyone and everything? Keep things in balance, the current cycle includes 6-8 hours of sleep, 8-10 hours of work, and the remaining parts go to everything else we hold dear to ourselves. Did anything change for the good with our actions yesterday?
By this point of reflection, our own eyes open to the reality of where do we allocate our time. Once this issue is resolved, we will find that we can make the most of our lives not only for ourselves, but for everyone and everything around us.
– Column by Haresh Daswani
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