I used to work a 9 to 5 job. Often, it required overtime, but basically was 9 to 5.
I would get up at 5, walk the dog, go for a bike ride, shower, eat breakfast and go to work.
At 5 in the afternoon, I would leave work, come home and recover from the day. Then I would start all over again the next morning at 5, sometimes 6 days a week.
Some days were busy, most were not. It got me to thinking, though, how much the people who weren’t working with me actually got to do in a day.
When my lovely wife and I took a trip to London with a side trip to Paris, my musings were answered.
One memorable day, we arose at 5, dressed and caught a cab to a train station. Off to Paris, we spent the entire day seeing the amazing sights, in particular the Eiffel Tower.
We found a cab driver who took us everywhere we wanted to go, including places we had no knowledge of, and finally to the train station to return to London.
“Mamma Mia” was the most popular show in London at the time. We heard that getting tickets was near impossible, but that did not discourage us. Through a computer glitch, the start of the show was delayed by 30 minutes, and there were two last-minute cancellations. We snapped up the tickets, absolutely terrific seats, four rows from the stage, dead center.
In a Stew, in a Nice Way
When the show ended, we had a restaurant in mind close to our hotel. It served the most amazing stew that we had enjoyed on prior visits.
Arriving at the restaurant at 11, the waiters were waiting for the last customers to finish so they could close and go home. We stuck our heads in and asked if we were too late. The waiter asked the manager who said no, but would we be okay eating the only meal they would offer at that time of night.
I asked what the meal was. Stew, said the manager.
How could we refuse? We made it back to our hotel and were in bed by 12:30.
Each day in Europe was as busy as this. Amazingly enough, we were not tired but energized by all that we were accomplishing. We knew this trip might be our last to Europe for awhile. We wanted to do all the things we had missed on previous visits.
We had a mindset, a vision of what we wanted to accomplish, and we made it happen.
It was an incredible lesson in time management, faith and determination. We lived what we were visualizing and we had the mindset to truly experience what we were doing — knowing each experience was one we may never have again.
Before leaving home on this trip, we spent time making sure of the things we wanted to do. We researched how to do them and resolved to do them because there would not be another chance.
What if we were to live our daily lives with that thought as a motivator?
What if we were to live our lives as productively as we had our vacation?
What if we were to live our lives using the same planning tools that led to the successful vacation?
What if we were to live our lives as if each day were to be our last?
The answers create in my mind a clear understanding of opportunities missed because we put off today what we think we can get done tomorrow. What if there wasn’t a tomorrow? Would you regret not having done what you put off?
We tend to believe we will live forever. There is always time to do what we didn’t do before, or to see friends and places we haven’t seen in awhile. We believe they will always be there and that we can see them some other time.
It is important to remember each of us is given a finite amount of time to live this amazing gift, to experience life in its myriad of shapes and forms.
Let’s commit to making the most of everyday, to doing what you wanted to do and to create ways to do them.
Stay close to your family and friends.
Remember, they or you may not be here tomorrow.
Remember also to treat others as well as yourself with respect, kindness, caring and courtesy.
Realize that in the end, life is not what others make for you. It is what you make of it.
What did you do today?
A clinical hypnotherapist, handwriting analyst and expert master hypnotist, Nicholas Pollak may be contacted at nickpollak@hypnotherapy4you.net