"I Don't Have Enough Time"

How often do you hear yourself saying you don't have enough
time? Even if you're not saying it out loud, I bet you think
it. "I wish I had more time" or "There's never enough hours
in a day" are statements voiced every day by most people. It's
a fact of life that there just isn't enough time. There never
has been and never will be more than 24 hours in each day. So,
why can some people achieve more in less time? I suggest one
of the reasons is attitude of mind.

"The greatest revolution in our generation is the discovery
that human beings, by changing the inner attitude of their
minds, can change the outer aspects of their lives".
Author and Philosopher, William James.

While you have the attitude of mind that you don't have enough
time, your actions will support this. When you approach things
with the attitude that you don't have enough time, whether true
or not, you'll find this to be so. What you think will be
revealed in your life. You can however choose to change your
attitude of mind. People who feel they've enough time to do
what they want and time doesn't rule their lives, have mastered
this attitude change. Telling yourself you don't have enough
time can be purely an excuse. It's often easier to say there
isn't enough time than to see what this excuse is covering up.
It may be concealing the fact that you aren't willing to think
it through further, you may not know or be willing to communicate
the real reason, or the excuse of not having enough time just
trips off your tongue. Using time as an excuse in this way often
leaves us stuck; it doesn't open up the opportunity to explore
what you can do about it. Let's take the example of Colin who
says he doesn't have enough time to spend with his family.
First, it may be easier for him to stick with his excuse than
to look at how much time he wants to spend with his family,
and consider what would they be doing, sharing, experiencing,
learning. If he starts to look at this aspect, this may require
him to change and for most people, change feels scary. Saying
"I don't have enough time" is an easier option. If Colin is
totally honest with himself, he may find he doesn't want to
spend time with his family doing certain things and for whatever
reason, feels unable to tell them this.

Not having enough time is an acceptable excuse for most people
nowadays. However, you need to be aware that this may be keeping
you stuck in many areas of your life and business. This excuse
of not having enough time stops you from exploring opportunities.
It's also a way to keep busy and really believe you don't have
enough time. The mental energy that's used up in thinking about
not having enough time, could be used to free up extra time.
When you're totally focused on the task you're doing, you'll
achieve things much more quickly. Focused attention allows us
to achieve more. As I mentioned earlier, it's your attitude of
mind that counts here and when you start thinking "I have more
than enough time for all I want to do", you start opening up the
possibilities. This attitude allows you to focus and not waste
time. It also puts you into a frame of mind so that you look
for ways to find this time. When you approach a task with the
attitude of having more than enough time for everything else in
your life, the task is likely to be completed much more quickly
because your attention is focused and less thought is wasted.

When you hear yourself say "I don't have enough time", I encourage
you to stop and reflect for a few seconds to consider what really
lies behind this excuse. Then turn it around to "I have more
than enough time" and see what that allows you to do.