Life is Short: Take Your Time to Live It

Time often slips through our fingers without us realizing it. Don't wait until it's too late to start making the most of it.

Time is one of life’s great treasures; we all realize how truly precious it is. However, when we’re young and healthy, we often have the illusion that this resource is inexhaustible. Therefore, we waste the time to truly live and leave the real priorities, such as our loved ones, our own happiness, or self-care for the future.

We should all be more aware that life is short, and that we come into the world with our hours counted. We can’t stop, store or retrieve time that has already passed.

Unfortunately, many are not aware of this until it’s too late. Then, they want to run after the years that are gone and regret not having taken advantage of them as they would have liked. We’d like to invite you to reflect on this aspect and start taking the time to live your life fully.

What are you wasting your time on?

Do you usually postpone time with your family and friends because you have too much work to do? Have you been saying for months or years that you will start exercising, but that moment never comes? Do you think that your happiness will come when you finally achieve a certain goal? Do your responsibilities “prevent you from” taking that longed-for trip?

The list could go on. We often spend our lives waiting for a “tomorrow” to start living, but this is a tomorrow that may never come.

Nowadays, most people are captives of time. They live life in a hurry, trying to fulfill their duties before the end of the day.

This is the typical case of those who never have time for anything, because they’re immersed in so many things (usually work), that life passes them by without them noticing.

However, we also have the other extreme: that of those people who, although they have enough free time, waste it on unimportant things, like spending hours watching insipid TV programs, surfing on social networks, and criticizing the lives of others.

Whatever the case may be, we often spend our existence doing activities that subtract or add nothing to our quality of life. In fact, despite the fact that work provides us with economic stability, if it is excessive or unpleasant, it would be damaging important aspects such as mental and physical health.

Therefore, it’s important that we know how to identify what exactly is stealing away our time to fight them with determination. It’s a matter of achieving a balance in which we can carry out our duties, but without neglecting the other aspects of life.

Take your time to live

We’re so used to living on autopilot that it’s normal that we don’t know how we can truly manage our time. Although there are no magic formulas for this task, we can start by establishing certain habits that will give us the time to live a full life. Let’s take a look at some of them.

Recognize your priorities

The first step is to make a list of our priorities, goals, and objectives. To the extent that we know what we want and where we’re going, we will be able to better direct and manage our actions.

And when we talk about objectives, we do not only include work or professional ones. It is important that you consider all aspects of your life, including personal and social ones.

That said, this list should include activities that add to your physical and mental well-being, as well as actions that allow you to cultivate your personal relationships.

Live in the present moment

The only thing we can be certain of and have control over is what is happening right now. The future will always be uncertain and the past can never be changed.

Therefore, channel your energy to make the present the best of times. To do this, stay away from where you don’t want to be, do what you enjoy, surround yourself with people who appreciate you, be grateful for the good things you have, and avoid the rush.

Organize your time well

Personal agendas are the perfect tool for time management. If we do not previously assign and reserve an exclusive space for essential tasks, routine activities will end up consuming all the available time.

Likewise, one way to enjoy and take advantage of time is to establish deadlines for tasks. This helps us to be concrete, set boundaries, and to have more control.

The aim is to reserve a space for what is important, including leisure and enjoyment. Let’s not forget that these moments are as relevant as the ones we set aside for tasks and homework.

Take your time

In short, taking the time to live means consciously investing your time into what makes us full and happy. It’s all about appreciating what we have here and now, without expecting anything from the future.