Life’s greatest gift

When you were born, you were given the greatest gift in the cosmos. You were given a life of time. Most people, however, don’t value their time. Perhaps this is because this great gift was given to us for free. Think you are smart enough to avoid “spending” your time? Maybe not. In fact, many people spend huge amounts of their time each day without any return on investment. When you spend your time in front of the TV, searching aimlessly on the internet, eating the wrong food or hanging out with the wrong people, you are spending time with no real hope of a positive return. The short-term return of a cheap laugh, sugar rush, or extra pound of fat may feel good at the time, but is worthless for anyone in the long term. A successful life is not created when you simply spend time. Success happens when you invest your time. No matter who you are or where you are from, you have something in common with everyone else: you were given 24 hours today, and the Clock is Ticking. In your Time Budget, you are given 24 hours in a day. Today you, like everyone else, will get 24 hours. What you do with each 24 hour day added up over your lifetime will determine your future. If you really understand that, then every hour, minute and second becomes valuable. In fact, time is more valuable than money because you can always get more money, but once your time is gone, you cannot have it back. When you invest money, you should expect a return. The same should be true for your time. The great news? Investing in yourself doesn’t need to be a huge lifestyle overhaul in just a few days or weeks. What counts is gradual progress with a clear goal in mind of appreciating self-optimization. Here is my list of 5 things you can do to make sure you’re actively protecting your most important investment: 1. Eat Well. It sounds easy, but for many people, cleaning up one’s diet can be a challenge when confronted with habits, traditions, and peer pressures. Think of it this way: if you want your car to last as long as possible and run smoothly and efficiently, the clear choice is premium-grade gasoline. Similarly, if you want your body and health to be at the highest level of performance, only feed yourself premium “fuel” in natural, whole forms. 2. Sleep. Many people these days are concerned with working out more, multitasking, and trying too hard to do too much. While keeping busy is not inherently bad, not getting sufficient rest to recover is. You can’t build muscle without rest days and you can’t master new skills without time to digest it. 3. Read. Society lately has grown progressively inclined to read short blurbs about interesting topics because that’s what fits on your laptop and smart phone screens, but that scenario leaves some things to be desired. Yes, online has rich content, but it’s also important to dive into good books. The longer and deeper the material, the more your mind will be stimulated by its content and the more you’ll learn and grow. 4. Exercise. This is probably a no-brainer for those of you reading, but it still must be mentioned. Exercise keeps your metabolism healthy, your hormones in balance, your muscles and physiology running efficiently, and energizes your brain so you can keep learning and working on yourself every day. Exercise is also really fun, and a great chance to spend time with friends and build relationships. 5.Get Regular Check-ups (Dentist/Doctor). It would be a shame for all of your hard work to go to waste because you’re home sick from work! You don’t need to obsess, but knowing where you stand every so often is very empowering and useful for many situations. This is even more important when you decide to try some big diet or exercise changes and you want to know how your physiology is changing. The more informed of your own health, the better equipped you’ll be to control it.

Make the most out of your time and live the best life possible.