02 March 2020

How To Be Better and Make Your Time Count

Have you ever learned a valuable life lesson and the solution was actually quite easy? I don’t think what I am about to share is revolutionary. In fact, everything I am going to tell you is very simple. The lesson I am learning about right now pertains to my time and how it’s spent.

I waste too much time! There...I said it. I know it’s not a competition, but if it were I would have set some records. If someone was giving out awards for the most unproductive individual, I would most certainly be standing on the podium accepting my reward. While I’m making jokes about this, don’t be fooled. I HATE IT!

On my computer screen is an open word document and it’s blank. My goal is to spend time working towards my goal of writing every day. This sounds like an easy plan, right? It’s not as easy as I thought because THE STUPID DOCUMENT HAS BEEN BLANK FOR OVER A WEEK! To say I am irritated is an understatement. The thing is, I know I am fully capable of doing it, but what other writers refer to as “writer's block” is upon me. GRRRRR! Seriously, why is this a thing? Please tell me you’ve been there and understand my frustration.

I pushed my chair back from the desk, slouched down, and stared at the ceiling. Today I was determined to break this cycle of procrastination and unproductiveness. After some deep breaths and a lot of thought I realized what my problem has been. When it comes to self-esteem my account is overdrawn. I can’t be productive in an area that requires me to think highly of myself because I don’t see myself as worth it. This seems to be a recurring theme in my life.

“How do I stop feeling so bad about myself,” I said to myself as I rubbed my hands through my hair. “I want to believe in myself, but I don’t know where to start.”

Later that night I looked at my wife and talked about this very thing. One of my favorite moments in life is when I can talk to my wife at night. The kids are down for the count and I have to squeeze in a quick conversation before she completely passes out. On this night I learned something.

“Wife, so here’s my thought,” I said as she smiled. (I don’t have a cute name for her so I call her wife. I also start out most of our deep conversations with that same line.) “I’ve read a lot of books on success. I’ve listened to countless podcasts, watched tons of videos about this, and you know what I’ve realized? The people who are successful saw themselves as successful long before they achieved the very success we see today. What do we classify success as? Most people think it’s the material things a person has because of their hard work. While that’s a part of it, I don’t think that’s it. I think success is learning to overcome the pitfalls of the mind; success is learning to work through the idiotic thinking that can hold us back. That’s what I need to do! I have to start seeing myself as a gifted writer.”

I then started speaking about how much of a gift I have for doing writing prompts. As I was talking about my gifts (aka talents) it dawned on me that my time is valuable. I stopped talking for a second because I couldn’t believe how easy that thought came to me. Look, this isn’t any groundbreaking information, but for me, this was a total light bulb moment. There was a sudden shift in my thinking.

I took out a piece of paper, my Sharpie® pen, and I started to write. To be honest, I don’t know where this came from. Maybe I was just desperate. What I wrote was, “My time is valuable! Make it count! Mind = Priceless”. 
Over the last few days I’ve been speaking differently about my mind. There are still a myriad of negative thoughts that consume me. The transition from a negative mindset to a positive one isn’t something that happens instantaneously. In fact, it can take a lot of time considering we are literally trying to rewire something that’s become a subconscious action. We have been trained to think negatively. Undoing that is not easy.

However, there is something about seeing our time as valuable. I am still working on the other areas of my life and expect them to start getting better soon. In the area of writing, though? Well...I have gotten a lot better. I have a confidence I’ve never even known before.

Here is what I’m getting at: pick one area of your life and run with it. Whether you’re a writer, artist, or singer, for once in your life you need to fully commit with 100% confidence in at least one area. Take a few moments every day and speak life over that area. I looked at my wife and literally said, “I am freakishly great at doing writing prompts! Why would I let anything get in the way of that?” The thing is that I believed it when I said it. The more I said it, the more I believed it. That confidence has been growing over the last few days, too. It’s still strange to me that it’s such an easy shift to make. I don’t know if I was just sick and tired of failing or what, but dang I like this change that's happening. I also firmly believe that this new belief, this new confidence, will begin to spill over into every area of my life.

This is only the second thing I’ve written since this shift happened. I haven’t done any writing prompts yet, but those will be coming really soon. Is what I’m writing perfect? NO WAY! Although the intent and subject is wonderful, I think this blog is subpar at best. I don’t mind that, though. I am getting back in the game, and that’s a big deal.

Let me leave you with this quote from Norman Vincent Peale:
“Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy.”

I would love to know what you think about this. Comment and give me your thoughts. Keep the discussion going and share it for your friends to read.

(Note from the author: Most of these posts are from the last few years. I've closed down my website for now but wanted to keep everything in one place. I hope you enjoy my little insights.)