A Well-Spent Time

Yesterday, I spent the whole day with my family. We went to church early in the morning then went on a road trip after. I felt so good and refreshed afterward that I became more excited to face the new week. I realized, however, that it could have been a stressful time for me if I worried about all the tasks that my wife and I left undone or if I constantly checked my phone for any work-related notifications. Therefore, I am so thankful that I have learned from a lot of great motivational people in the world the importance of being in the moment because I get to enjoy every experience.

Do you know that part of what’s stressing us out is our tendency to think about other things while doing another? Who wouldn’t get stressed out anticipating the workload on Monday while eating dinner on a Sunday? What did we miss in this particular scenario? The enjoyment we could have had while savoring the dinner, and/or the happiness we could have felt while having a conversation with our family at the dinner table. 

We do not live to the fullest by just engaging in many adventures or activities. We can live to the fullest when we savor each and every experience in our life. We can live to the fullest when we also learn to prioritize time for our wellness, for our loved ones, and for other activities that do not necessarily involve work. As the saying goes, all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. 

What are the things that we should allocate time to besides work or business? Here are my personal preferences.

1. Time with the Creator. First and foremost, I always ask God for guidance and strength for everything that I do. I personally believe that allotting time to talk with Him is the most important of all. We should not let our busy schedules get in the way of our time for Him. If we can spend many hours scrolling social media, we can surely spend 30 minutes or so with Him every day. After all, without Him in our midst, everything will just be chaotic. 
2. Family time. I used to justify to my wife that I really can’t spend time with her and the rest of the family much because I am too busy. I used to think that if I worked hard or spent all my time working, I would make my family happy and secure. I was so wrong because time is more important to them. As we all know, tomorrow is not promised. If we spend time working hard for them but did not really spend time with them, we might miss the chance. 
3. Wellness time. I always make sure to insert exercise in my schedule because I believe that taking care of our bodies is the way to keep going. We should not abuse ourselves. Not only should we take care of our bodies, but we should also take care of our mental and emotional health. To do this, I make time for meditation or quiet time. If we won’t take care of ourselves, then we are just sabotaging everything that we are working hard on.

There are a lot of essential things in life that we must also allot time aside from work and business. We must learn to prioritize these things because success in a career would feel empty if there is a deficiency in any of the other things that matter. Would you be happy to have millions in the bank but without a family to share it with, or with deteriorating health?