I caught up with a friend, who also used to be my roommate, over the phone yesterday. We talked about job searching, side hustles, moving to a different city, and his upcoming wedding ceremony. Both of us felt really busy because we still had so many things to do before the end of the year.
When we were living together, our lives weren’t as hectic. We had stable jobs so we weren’t stressed about looking for new jobs or moving elsewhere. None of us were getting married. We would have chicken wing nights (with hot sauce reviews!) and watch Smallville on Fridays or Saturdays. There were some weekends where we could just sit around in the living room and chat about random stuff in our lives. It honestly felt like life was simpler back then.
Now we have so many commitments that we need to schedule our time in advance just to find time to hang out. As a result, time has become much more valuable to us.
When you realize you have important things you have to do and you have little time to do them, then time becomes precious to you.
The concept seems pretty straightforward, but truly internalizing it and becoming more proactive with your time requires more than just logical understanding.
You can’t teach it, you have to experience it
I realized that you can’t teach somebody this realization because everybody defines the value of time differently and what they consider important.
Looking back 5 years ago, I don’t think I could’ve convinced myself that my time was precious because I was living a comfortable life. I had everything I needed – a stable job, a place to live, friends, and the ability to afford most of what I wanted. I never considered building my career and fixing my mental health to be important because the problems that I have now with my health and career were never apparent back then.
After spending the last four years facing physically and mentally challenging situations, I’ve realized how important my career and my overall health have become. Mixed in with the fact that I have other priorities like moving back home and building relationships, I’ve realized how little time I have each day to address each of those things.
So if you want to value your time more , you have to go out and experience how time precious is for yourself.
