The Importance Of Time Regained

“If you’re not busy being born, you’re busy dying.” There is nothing more appropriate than this famous quote by Bob Dylan to help us face these ‘unsettling’ times we are living while learning the importance of time regained. Now that particular circumstances due to Corona Virus are forcing us to stay at home, it’s time to reinvent ourselves, enjoy our free time and learn new skills.

The Anxiety and Depression Association Of America advises us to reframe our thoughts from “I am stuck inside” to “I can finally focus on my home and myself”.

As dismal as the world may feel right now, think of the mandated work-from-home policy as an opportunity to refocus your attention from the external to the internal – Dr Aarti Gupta, PsyD is Founder and Clinical Director at TherapyNest says-. Doing one productive thing per day can lead to a more positive attitude. Set your sights on long-avoided tasks, reorganize, or create something you’ve always wanted to. Approaching this time with a mindset of feeling trapped or stuck will only stress you out more. This is your chance to slow down and focus on yourself.

And while Millenials are virtually hanging out with their pals organising sing-along groups online, our generation (Gen X) has plenty more options to explore. From mindful knitting to revamping our garden, from challenging our family with board games to cooking the best Italian Ragu of our life, we now have no excuses not to add a new string to our bow.

You can decide to write that novel you always wished you could write, practise yoga with your kids or simply watch the sunrise. During your alone time, you can think about your dreams, set up new goals, see what you really want in your life and make a plan with clear steps to achieve them.

When we stop our daily rush and step out of our daily duties and never-ending needs, we can take some time and look at our lives and see how many things we have. Let’s appreciate our lives and smile. Let’s take a pause of daily habits and give ourselves the true gift of being alive.

We cannot entirely influence our circumstances- Sabine Schuh, Life and Business Designer, says-.  but we can always choose to not let them dominate ourselves.  We are so much more powerful than we can ever imagine.  Why not use this time to discover our own power and resources, to balance and ground ourselves and to centre ourselves as much as possible?  Nothing is impossible. There are just things that we haven’t tried yet to find new realms of possibilities and improve the situation we are in.

The truth is, we all have the same amount of time, and it’s finite and in great demand. But some of us have made the time for doing the things we love doing, and others have allowed the constant demands and pressures and responsibilities of life to dictate their days. This is the best time to reclaim our space.