We went out for Chinese food last night. Tried a new place that was quite good; lots of very fresh veggies, perfectly cooked rice, and the sauces were flavorful and true to their respective provinces. It is a joy to find a good Chinese restaurant close to home, on this side of the mountain as we say. It takes time and is a bit of a schlep to have to drive into the city for great restaurants.
With Christmas now behind us and the New Year just days before us, it is a fitting time to reflect on the concepts of time and time management. These kinds of chronological transitions offer a wonderful interlude - inviting us to ponder where we've been and where it is we're headed. While the tradition of making New Year's Resolutions is a popular one, I find there is usually very little resolve involved, and most resolutions are neither kept nor realized. Still, I do think there is tremendous value in reflection and in making decisions to undertake changes for self-improvement, time management, and the furthering of our personal goals.
I am always interested in how we as individuals make choices, set priorities, and deal with change, challenges and opportunity. Given that none of us knows how long we will be here, it is significant how we choose to spend this cosmic currency we call time. Not knowing how much we have to spend, it is impossible to accurately budget. Thus, we need to spend it wisely - and, I believe, gratefully.
So, I was pleased and a little bit tickled with the fortune I received in my fortune cookie, after that wonderful meal we enjoyed last night. It says, "Don't just spend time. Invest it." I really like the concept of not simply spending, but actually investing our time, as it connotes a sense of thoughtfulness and intentionality moment by moment.
Typically, when we think of investing we think in terms of putting money into something - such as stocks and bonds, real estate; our children's education, or even our own. These days I am actively investing in my financial education, physical fitness, our thriving home-based business, and gold and silver bullion. Whatever it might be, we invest with the hope of obtaining some sort of future gain or benefit. It involves choice, action and a sense of hope or expectation. We are putting something of value into an opportunity or "investment" with the potential and keen hope of a greater return.
If we do more than merely spend time, if we actually invest it in something, there is an act of volition and an element of enhanced possibility and promise. I find looking at time this way to be intriguing. It seems to ask more of us, and at the same time it feels more empowering. We have the ability and the freedom to invest.
As we enter into 2010, and move through this New Year, my wish is that each of us will resolve to become much more intentional about investing quality time in ourselves. Through the time management training we receive in our home-based Internet business, one of the concepts that is reiterated over and over again has to do with value. We are encouraged to invest in ourselves in order to increase our personal value to the world. To become persons of value who are in an increasingly stronger position to help and serve others. I resonate with that and embrace the challenge. Invest some time and focus on your health, wealth and wisdom. What better way to start, and to spend, this New Year that is unfolding before us -than to direct a meaningful amount of time toward your own development. Invest in personal enrichment and in cultivating qualities that will benefit those with whom you interact. Then it truly will become a very Happy New Year.
