WillNaylor.NET

If there is ever a phrase that irks me it’s “I’m going to spend time with/doing <blah>”

‘Spend’ time? Since when has time been equivalent of a currency? Not only has consumerism have us obsessed with wanting more stuff it also has warped our concept of time – as if it were a commodity we knew we were going to run out of.

And now there seems to be some underlying necessity to cram our lives as a sequence of events, scheduled to maximise our return on investment – cashing in time in calculated increments in the hope to make us feel ‘balanced’.

My theory on being ‘balanced’ – it’s pedestrian. All you really end up doing is juggling one part of your life with another. Hardly anything extraordinary comes out of a juggling act. Unless you are juggling flaming chainsaws with puppies.

So don’t be afraid to take your work/family/friends/leisure ‘balance’ and change it up a bit – go with the flow; do what comes naturally; focus on something extraordinary or turn something ordinary into something extraordinary. And don’t worry about any downtime – daydreaming is good for you. After all there is no hurry.

The end of the year is approaching and for many this sparks the time to put together New Years resolutions. Whether it’s to shed a few kilos, branch out into self-employment or to travel, there are endless objectives people can set their sights on.

But it got me wondering why we do this.

The simple explanation is that we want to improve ourselves; to get out of our bad habits. But to be compelled to change only once every 365 days just spells doom for the resolution. An unpleasant assumption to make but they’re not exactly known for being successful.

Perhaps it’s time to take a different approach.

In moving forward, it pays to look back at where you came from. Reminiscing has a way of giving perspective, which is a key ingredient of motivation. And one way we reconnect with our past is to listen to music, the type that carries the weight of particular times our lives. Songs where the lyrics spoke our mind and the melody resonated with us.

So make a playlist of the songs that represent the moments that made who you are – a soundtrack of your life, so to speak.

And for the bold move… share it with others. Let them see where you came from. Let them hear your story.

Now your resolution has greater meaning.