The Problem is We Think We Have Time

Time keeps ticking, my friend.

I woke up much earlier than I intended today. Two hours earlier, in fact. I was sleepy as hell and as sluggish as a walrus or something, but I decided to write this article now instead of falling back to sleep and doing it “later”.

I think it’s good to get in the habit of doing things earlier than you said you would do them.

The problem is that lately, I’ve been putting many things off until later, and it either never happens or comes back to bite me in the ass.

There’s an art in ignoring your mind.

I’d say 90% of developing a strong mindset is by ignoring your mind and all the bullshit it tells you.

It means well, it really does, but the mind isn’t capable of juggling the juxtaposing idea that struggle or discomfort often leads to success.

The added problem is that the only real tool at your disposal that will help you ignore your mind is… your mind.

You could probably imagine why we have problems.

You will do anything to keep yourself comfortable, at least initially. You will keep postponing things you say you need to do, things you know you need to do, in order to be comfortable for just a little longer with the added, oblivious hope that you’ll still get that thing done.

“Oblivious” because you don’t even realize that you secretly think you’ll still achieve that dream even after all that postponing and procrastination.

I would hope it’s oblivious to you, at least. That’d make more sense than actively and consciously thinking it.

“Just a little longer” becomes a little larger, and larger, and larger. It grows and grows until you’re addicted to it.

You’re addicted to procrastination. You’re addicted to instant gratification.

You think you have time to putt things off, but you don’t. You’re wasting it. Anything worth achieving takes daily, consistent effort. Each day, hour, and minute you lose is time wasted.

Why do we act like we don’t understand how long it will take to achieve our goals?

Don’t even bother trying to answer that. It’s rhetorical. The point is that we need to realize our insanity right now.

We need to realize that our dreams are way too ambitious for the effort we are putting towards them. We don’t have time to lose. We need to realize that it will take a long time, and the more we put things off, the longer it takes.

The more we put things off, the more likely it is that it will stay off.

“Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway…” — Earl Nightingale

If the time will pass anyway, why waste it procrastinating only to regret those decisions on your deathbed?

If the time will pass anyway, why not make the most of it to ensure that when it does pass you’ve actually accomplished something that you say you want to accomplish?

Each day you grind is a day won.

Don’t worry about if you’re not seeing the results quick enough. Worthy results don’t come quickly.

Don’t worry about others being ahead of you. They’re ahead of you a reason. Figure it out.

Don’t worry about pursuing the unknown, it’s unknown for a reason — there’s nothing you’re going to know about it. Don’t even waste your time worrying about that, especially when so many successful people before you have told you that the pursuit of the unknown is what leads to success. This begs the question, is the path to your dreams really unknown? Is the result at the end of it really unknown?

Don’t worry about if it will all be worth it — it only won’t if you plan on stopping once you achieve that dream. It only won’t if you think of your dreams as the “the end”, that you’ve “made it”. The feeling will come then go as quickly as it came. It’s not the end. No. You’re gonna chase that big dream of yours and keep on going. To achieve more and more, realizing that the fulfillment is in the process.

Don’t worry about if you will succeed or not, you won’t with that attitude. Plus, the plan is to work so hard that success is inevitable.

Don’t worry about if you’re wasting your time.

The only waste of time is when you waste it.

Have I combated enough excuses for you to get off your ass yet?

Please know that consistent, deliberate, and hard work on a daily basis is the only thing that truly works. It’s the most surefire way for you to know that you’re heading in the right direction. You gotta be in it for the long haul, understand?

Maybe you waste time and procrastinate because you think your goals will come sooner than they will.

No one is telling you to not have a life. In fact, I’m telling you that the grind IS life. You’ll realize that many things outside of relationships and your passions are just… fluff. There’s no true fulfillment in those comfortable things you do to “relax”, rejuvenate”, “cleanse”, “take a breather”, “clear your head” or whatever other term of your choosing.

Your growth and what you give back matters more than anything else.

There’s certainly not any fulfillment in not following your passions, only regret. Regret is the worst feeling ever. There’s nothing worse than not being able to change something, nothing worse than losing your chances or only getting one. There’s nothing worse than not being able to go back and do it again differently.

You should want to pursue that dream with everything in you. You need to believe you are capable because you are. You need to become a person who you can trust and take seriously because you will need to. You need to raise your standards and continue beyond your dreams once you’ve accomplished them, always chasing growth, because if we aren’t growing we’re dying.

You think you have time, but you don’t.

Time waits for no one, and it certainly won’t wait for you.

Realize that it’s never too late to start, but Time has already started. Get on the grind now.

Don’t think about the time you’ve already wasted, that just wastes more time — there’s nothing you can do about it.

“The past only equals your future if you live there. If you’re using a rearview mirror to guide yourself, you’re going to crash. ” — Tony Robbins

Instead of dwelling on your past, instead of dwelling on all that time wasted, remember that time is still running and the time it takes to accomplish your dreams will pass you anyway.

And I wonder, what will you do with what you have left?