Watch Out for These 5 Signs You Are Wasting a Lot Of Time
You are comfortable
“ A man who dares to waste one hour of time has not discovered the value of life. “ – Charles Darwin. Time is by far one of the most important resources we have in our lifetime. Therefore, to make the most of it, one would need to overcome the desire to give in to comfort. It’s crucial to ask oneself how long it has been since you last challenged yourself to learn something or invest in personal growth. Being content is fairly okay, but it’s vital not to confuse being content with settling for less. Mediocrity is often a deadly pattern most people become victims to for all sorts of reasons. It may be because you are too afraid to succeed or fail. It may also be due to laziness to take time to discover what you really want and go for it.
When insecurities are not confronted and dealt with productively, one stays timid and comfortable for years. This then breeds stagnation. When one is stagnant, everything in your life then also remains stagnant; your relationships, finances, health, and so forth. Therefore, to avoid paying the price of comfort which is suffering, one has to decide to challenge themselves daily and commit to a personal growth plan.
You have settled for the traditional 8 am to 5 pm job
The 8 am to 5 pm job is nowadays considered traditional. This is because it is an old inefficient redundant way of surviving due to the dynamic way our world has been evolving. It is very necessary to commit to this job in the short term since this will definitely cover most of your living expenses. Moreover, this type of work can also be useful to help one raise capital for investing in new active and passive alternative streams of income. Once those start to generate more stable income than what your 8 am to 5 pm job generates, then you will have more reason to retire from the old system and spend your time in the new ventures.
These new sources of income are usually flexible and provide a better work environment than the former. This too will contribute to better mental health and helping you have more time to spend on what you are truly passionate about. If your favorite time for your 8 am to 5 pm job is when it’s time to leave every day, then it’s good to start considering and investing in having a different career path for the long run.
You are holding on to toxic relationships
These are relationships that seldom add value to your life. Most people hold on to toxic relationships even though they may be seeing consistent red flags. It can be either friendship, family, or romantic relationships. All three have the potential to waste your time if not given careful thought. These usually are relationships with no vision, no positive plans, no clarity. It’s when one person uses the other to selfishly fulfill their desires instead of looking out for the best interests of the other.
In the context of romantic relationships, one definitely will be wasting their time when they invest in this type of partner; someone who usually says, “let’s just go with the flow.” This person be it male or female is clearly showing you they have no vision at all neither do they want commitment. Rarely does this person ever actually invest in a long-term commitment.
When someone’s words and actions often don’t align, it is self-destructive and a waste of time to keep holding on to such people. Rather, take time to understand your true worth and move on to relationships that are productive and healthy.
You do not know your true identity and purpose
This is the ultimate recipe for living a life of regret and misery. Everything created or made has a creator or designer. We discover who we really are and our purpose from our Creator. For me to understand what an apple phone is and how to fully utilize all its functions, I need to get accurate knowledge from the apple manufacturers or manual. Otherwise, l may end up just knowing how to call, send messages and maybe use one or two apps but be devoid of knowing how to enjoy the rest of the functions the phone has. I may even end up destroying the phone by trying to fix it the same way an android phone is fixed. Hence, to live a fulfilled life, let’s always refer back to the source of our lives for clarity and direction.
You do not have a positive paradigm shift
A paradigm shift is “An important change that happens when the usual way of thinking about or doing something is replaced by a new and different way.” Your thoughts create your reality. Having the same thoughts every day leads to having the same choices. The same choices lead to the same behaviors. The same behaviors produce the same experiences. The same experiences produce the same emotions. All in all, this then creates your personality. Your personality creates your personal reality.
Therefore, for us not to re-live our undesirable past, we have to create a different reality through ‘learning.’ Daily learn and practice having new thoughts, new choices, new behaviors, new experiences, new emotions which will certainly result in a new personality that produces a new reality. That indeed becomes the solution to stopping the vicious cycle of wasting a lot of time.