I don’t have enough time to (insert here). It could be anything you put in there. Last week for me it was to write this letter to you. It could be to train, to meal prep, to take that trip you have been putting off. I know I have filled that space with too many things over the years.
What I am about to say may piss some people off. It can be hard to accept. I know it was for me.
The problem is not the amount of time you have in the day, the problem is what you are trying to accomplish, isn't high enough on your priority list.
We are all given the same amount of hours in a day. It is all about what you CHOOSE to do with those hours. We just have to look around to see if others are accomplishing what we want to accomplish. If so, we know there is enough time. You then need to ask yourself, what are they doing, or better yet, what are they NOT doing that I am? Are they hitting snooze on the alarm three times or are they up on the first alarm? Are they calculating the last possible second to get up and still be on time or are they sacrificing one hour of sleep to get a workout in? Are they watching tv or are they reading the book on nutrition?
This is where it gets tough. I'll use myself as an example. Last week when I did not have enough time to write this letter, but I had an hour throughout the day to check Facebook, that was me saying Facebook was my bigger priority. When I missed my workout, but found idle time to scroll Instagram, that was me stating my priority.
This all came to head for me about a month ago. I had a to-do list a mile long and was getting nowhere with it. I was sitting down with my partner Sarah and going over my list and kept finding myself saying I had no time. Sarah did what I hope someone will do for you. She called me on it. It hurt. It was not a pleasant experience. This is not a new concept to me, yet I still needed reminding and probably will in the future.
The first step for me was, to be honest with myself. It is not that I had no time to get my to-do list done. I did not put enough importance on it. My 'why' was not clear enough. I saw the list as an annoyance that I was supposed to endure. I did not see it for what it was, items, that when completed, will allow my business to thrive. In turn allowing me time to train, providing the revenue I and my family (present and future ) need to survive. I can keep going but I think you get the point. The same was true for why I missed my work out. I was not keeping 'why' I train in my mind. It was just that thing I had to endure in the morning. Instagram was way more appealing. When you boil down the 'why' I train, like I did in my last letter, Instagram can't touch it. Just thinking about why I train now has me wanting to head to the gym at 11:10 pm.
That leads me to my next point. Sometimes the things we want can't be our top priority. Sometimes they must take a back seat to something more pressing. We just need to keep the honesty going. Making sure we are not using said priority as an excuse. If I say I cant work out because I want to spend time with my family, that will work in the short term and is legitimate, but what about the long-term? What if a lack of health cuts five years from one's life? Would the trade off be worth it? Or would one hour three times a week be the better option? I can't answer that for you. These are your priorities and your choices to make.
What I can tell you is, our top priorities are not what we say they are, they are what we spend our time doing. "It isn't what we say or think that defines us, it's what we do." -Jane Austin
Sincerely,
Coach Dan
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