My favorite quote from Shakespeare comes from the play Hamlet wherein the title Prince of Denmark declares there is “nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” While we may or may not have much control over the world around us, we do have the ability to choose how we interpret it and how we respond to it. And the kind of relationship we want to forge with it.
Race Against the Clock
I oftentimes complain about not having enough time to do all the things that I want to do. I’ve got my freelance writing business where I am constantly juggling projects and obligations from about a half-dozen clients at any given time. I’ve got this blog where I endeavor to post new (and hopefully compelling) content several times a week. I’ve got social media and my YouTube channel.
And on top of all of that, I’ve got all these books I want to read, all these movies and TV shows I want to watch, and all these video games I want to play. We are currently “suffering” through an embarrassment of riches when it comes to the range and quality of entertainment made available to us. And let’s not forget about my pressing responsibilities as a father, a husband, a son, a brother and a friend.
There’s just not enough time. There’s never enough time.
There is just so much I want to do. There are books that I want to write, videos I want to shoot, projects I want to start, hobbies I want to pursue. And in a (decidedly feeble and ultimately self-destructive) effort to accomplish more, I am enticed by the false promise of multitasking. But we all know that multitasking accomplishes exactly the opposite of what we hope it would.
By trying so hard to do so many things at the same time, I really just end up doing less. And what does get done is of lesser quality. I can’t win. Right?
What’s the Alternative?
This really got me thinking, though, about how I can put these kinds of challenges and frustrations into perspective. The truth is I’d much rather feel like I have so much I want to do, so much that I’m passionate about, so much that gets me excited than to complain about being bored and express my discontent over how there’s nothing to do.
Nothing to do? Are you kidding me?
The reason why I feel like I never have enough time is because I care so much about the things that I want to do, both personally and professionally. They give me a sense of purpose and direction. If a moment is all that we are, if each of us is a mere blip in the history of the universe, don’t we want to make the most of what little time we have? Anything less would surely be a wasted opportunity, don’t you think?
If life doesn’t light a fire in your belly (or under your butt), maybe it’s time to re-evaluate what really gets you going, what really makes you happy. And focus your energy on that. There’s no time to be bored.
My alternative is a slightly different perspective than yours Michael. What you see as living life to the fullest is to me too much clutter, or doing too much because you think you need to.
The truth to me is if you can make a list of things you want to do you can see what is important to you in black and white. If it doesn’t make the top 5 on the list then it doesn’t have that much importance really. On top of that, being a whirlwind of activity with no space, refresh time or brain veg time you aren’t enjoying life are you?
A page without white space is a mess. Music is not music with just the notes, it needs the space in between to become music. Space is good, it’s what makes everything better.