Enjoy the Journey

Let’s face it, in today’s world, busy-ness has become a status symbol. We’re all so overwhelmed with the “doing” of our lives, we rarely take time just “to be.”

Do you fail to take time to smell the roses? Are you so focused on the end result for which you’re striving, that you don’t enjoy the process of getting there? Whether it’s achieving a goal, getting to work on time, or having company for dinner, do you enjoy your journey?

James Gleick, in his book, “Faster: The Acceleration of Just About Everything,” says we have become so obsessed with time and the need for speed that we’re getting nowhere fast. In our efforts to cram more and more life into the 1,440 minutes that make up a day, we risk losing out on the whole point of life.

So what are you to do?  How can you slow down?  Making progress in this area means making choices and it will probably mean saying “no.”

The first step towards enjoying your journey is to raise your own level of awareness as to where your time is going. You might want to track your time on paper for a couple of weeks and see what you discover. A number of my clients have done this exercise and they’ve been amazed at where the minutes and hours go. Get yourself a small spiral notebook, and for two weeks, make notes about how you consume your time.

Or try this exercise: Make a list of the things in your life that are most important to you (family, friends, work, personal growth, etc.).  Now transfer that information to a pie chart, with the most important things getting the biggest slices of the pie.  Next, make a list of all the things you spend your time on. Figuring 100 waking hours per week, note how many hours you spend in each area and then transfer this information to another pie chart.  Now compare your two pie charts. Are there gaps between what you say is most important and how you spend your time?

Here’s my challenge to you: first, raise your level of awareness as to how you spend your time. Perhaps you’d like to track your time over a two-week period, then take a half-hour for yourself and do the pie charts. Once completed, ask yourself what needs to change.

I believe in taking small steps on the way to big change. What’s one small step that you can take this week?  For example, are you putting in too many hours at the office? How about cutting back from 80 hours to 75 hours?  Now you have an extra five hours each week to slow down and enjoy your journey.  How will you spend that time?

What are other small steps you can take?  Why not take five minutes each day to appreciate the sunset or play with your pet?  Take small steps on the way to big change and before you know it, you’ll be taking time to smell the roses.