When I was in the ninth grade, I had this teacher named Mrs. Powers. Mrs. Powers really lived up to her name. She lived on a farm or a ranch and spent her mornings or afternoons baling hay and doing other chores that needed to be done. She prepared detailed English lessons for a class full of arrogant talented and gifted kids and taught a bunch of other classes as well. One of her lessons still sticks with me to this day. She asked us, if someone gave us a specific amount of money, what would we do with it? The caveat was that we could not save the money. We could not give the money to someone else, nor could we refuse the money. We had to spend it. What would we spend it on? One very wise classmate said he would invest it. Several other people agreed. Some people argued with the necessity of spending it all. She then told us that the money was, in actuality, time. We are given a finite amount of minutes in a day. We can't save the minutes, refuse the minutes, or give them to someone else. We have to spend them. What is the best way to spend this very limited and valuable resource?
The reason, dear readers, that I am thinking of this subject today, is because in our house, we are at the tail end of spring break. I have spent this particular day lamenting the fact that I am tired and eating a bunch of junk food, and it occurred to me, as I sat here with a (small) stack of Pringles in my hand, that I was wasting time. So then I started thinking about other things I do that waste my time. And it occurred to me that over the last two or three years, I have learned a lot about time wasting.
Specifically, I have found that it is a waste of time to:
1) Worry about things I cannot change or undo. Everyone makes mistakes. Sometimes, we also look at our lives and wish that something was different. If it's something that you can invest time in (see? I learned something, Mrs. P) such as becoming more healthy or learning something new, then do it. That's not a time waste. If, however, you are spending hours on Pinterest pinning pictures of kitchens that you cannot possibly afford (guilty), you might be wasting time. Even though this activity is fun and in the throes of self-justification I call it "research for the future".
2) Feel upset about things I can't have. Like the kitchen. Or a certain type of car. Whatever! Again, if it's attainable, and it's something that you can feasibly work towards, then it's not a waste of time. Otherwise, you're just making yourself miserable. Move on, until your circumstances change.
3) Carry a grudge. Everyone gets offended. Everyone gets a wrong done to them. That's life. Thinking about what someone did to you, and replaying it over and over in your head, encourages bitterness. It deletes the possibility of healing. The old adage "acid damages the container it's in just as much or more than the thing it's poured on" is true. If you are carrying a grudge or nursing emotional wounds, then you are taking up space in your head that could be used for more positive things. It may take time to get over the vilest of wrongs, and a lot of soul-searching and praying (if you pray), but realize that overcoming this type of thing is a process. Investing your time in emotional healing and forgiveness is NOT a waste of time. Thinking up nefarious plans for revenge and willfully hanging on to the memories of what someone did to you is not only a waste of time, it's harmful and painful.
4)Spend hours on the internet. Facebook, Pinterest, email, SnapChat, Twitter...It's fun and it's a great way to connect with people. But you do reach your saturation point with all of these. Do you really need to know that someone "liked" your post from yesterday? Is it important to see what everyone did while you were taking a nap? It's addicting. Moderation.
5)Complain. There are certain times when complaint is called for. For instance, if your child is having a problem at school, complaint is called for. If you are in severe pain, complaint is called for. Perhaps a trip to the ER. Otherwise, personally, I have no time for complaints.
6)Pumping gas. Yeah, I know, this is not legitimate. It's on here anyway!!!
But what should I do instead?
Clean your house, learn something new, make something, serve someone, exercise, work, write...just GO DO, people. Just GO DO. Turn yourself outward, stop looking inward, think of the quality of the things you are doing and ask yourself if you would spend money on it. If the answer is yes, (Yes, I would spend money on a good exercise program if I had the money, No, I would NOT pay money to spend four hours looking at kitchens/bathrooms/cars I cannot afford , No, I wouldn't pay big bucks to hold on to a grudge against my ex, my former best friend, the girl who got my order wrong at that fast food place (whatever), If you would pay money, hard earned cash that you earned, to engage in that activity, then it's probably not a waste of time. And it's going to be personal for everyone. Some people relax when they get off work by watching a little tv. Nothing wrong with that. Relaxing after a hard day is time well spent. Some people get inspired by the things they find on Pinterest; it gets their creative juices flowing. Again, it's personal. The list I made, that's for me. What about yours?
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