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Value Your Time More = Value Yourself More. It’s the Live Big Mindset!

How you value your time reveals the kind of value you place on yourself and if you haven't been honoring your time enough, here are 10 ways to improve. Time is the most precious resource we will ever possess, yet we tend to take it for granted. How you use it reflects not only how much you value your time, but it also reveals your priorities, values, and ultimately, how much you value yourself. 

Why do we sometimes squander the invaluable asset of time?  What are some practical strategies to honor time and, by extension, ourselves? And how can the Live Big Mindset help? You’ll find answers to these questions and more within this article…

Why Do We Waste Time?

There are so many layers we must peel back to reveal the heart of this issue. Superficially, here are a few reason we may waste time:

  1. Procrastination: Putting off important tasks due to fear, uncertainty, or perfectionism can lead to wasted time.
  1. Lack of Direction: Without clear goals or priorities, we may drift aimlessly, investing time in activities that don’t align with our values or aspirations.
  1. Overcommitment: Saying “yes” to too many obligations can spread our time thin, leaving little room for activities that truly nourish our well-being.

However, we must dig deeper to understand why. What self-talk is telling us that these behaviors are okay? What are they protecting us from? One of my clients, we’ll call her Stacy,  spent her prime years catering to others’ expectations, neglecting her own passions and desires. She drowned her ambitions in a sea of busywork, failing to carve out time for self-care or personal growth. When she came to me, she was filled with dissatisfaction and regret. She had lost her way. Through Somatic Therapy, her body revealed what she had hidden for so many years. I assured her that she could allow herself to Dream Big once again. She learned the truthfulness of what M. Scott Peck said,

 “Until you value yourself, you won’t value your time. Until you value your time, you will not do anything with it.”

Start from where you are and think about the one small step you can take today. Here are some suggestions:

 Ways to Honor Your Time and Yourself

  1. The way you use your time shows how you value yourself.Set Boundaries: Learn to say “no” to commitments that don’t align with your priorities or values.
  1. Prioritize Self-Care: Schedule regular periods for relaxation, exercise, hobbies, and other activities that rejuvenate your mind, body, and spirit.
  1. Define Goals: Clarify your short-term and long-term objectives, breaking them down into baby steps that guide your daily decisions and actions.
  1. Practice Mindfulness: Cultivate present-moment awareness to savor life’s experiences and make intentional choices that honor your time.
  1. Delegate Tasks: Recognize your limitations and delegate tasks whenever possible to free up time for activities that truly matter to you.
  1. Learn to Let Go: Release perfectionist tendencies and embrace imperfection as a natural part of the human experience.
  1. Invest in Relationships: Nurture meaningful connections with loved ones, prioritizing quality time spent together over superficial interactions.
  1. Limit Screen Time: Set boundaries around digital distractions to reclaim precious moments for more fulfilling endeavors.
  1. Pursue Lifelong Learning: Dedicate time to acquire new skills, explore interests, and expand your horizons through continuous education and personal development.
  1. Reflect and Adjust: Regularly evaluate how you’re spending your time and make adjustments to ensure alignment with your values, goals, and overall well-being.

It’s so easy to get stuck in our comfort zone, existing from day-to-day. But living mindfully gives you back your power of choice and control. It reignited your sense of wonder and awe. The more you practice mindfulness the more exciting life becomes! You learn to Live Big on your terms. 

            “The way we spend our time defines who we are.” – Jonathan Estrin

Living big and living small represent contrasting approaches to life characterized by your attitudes, behaviors, and perspectives on existence.

Living Big 

Living big doesn’t mean you’re constantly seeking thrills. Those activities are for self-entertainment. And while there’s nothing wrong with entertainment, it works best as a spice sprinkled judiciously upon a life filled with purpose and meaning. The Live Big Mindset is based on these attitudes:

  • Seeing Possibilities: Living big involves embracing and seeking out new opportunities, challenges, and experiences with an open mind and heart. It’s about taking risks, and pushing beyond comfort zones to realize your full potential.
  • Pursuing Passion and Purpose: Actively pursue goals and dreams that align with your values, vision, and aspirations, seeking fulfillment and meaning in your endeavors.
  • Embracing Growth and Change: Life’s journey involves continuous learning, self-discovery, and adaptation to evolving circumstances, recognizing that personal and professional development are ongoing processes.
  • Cultivating Resilience: View obstacles as opportunities for growth and learning; bounce back from setbacks with determination, optimism, and perseverance.
  • Fostering Connections: Fostering meaningful relationships with others and nurture bonds built on trust, authenticity, and mutual support, celebrating shared experiences and milestones along the way.

On the other hand, living small is focused on comfort and stability, molded by fear of failure or rejection, resistance to change, settling for less, isolation and withdrawal from life. And you deserve better than that! Ultimately, the choice between living big and living small comes down to how you value your time. Are you going to waste it or wring every drop of satisfaction from it? The choice is yours. 

If something is standing in the way of living your Big Dreams, I’d love to assist you in stepping forward.  One of my “Super Powers” is identifying the baby steps that will move you toward your Big Dream. I invite you to take advantage of my free 30-minute consultation to see if we’re a good fit for working together. 

Your “Dream Big, Start Small” here’s the one thing you can do today.

Value your time and yourself by practicing mindfulness.

Sand pouring from hand photo by Kunj Parekh 

self-understanding


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