Have you ever felt like a chicken with its head cut off?
My wife sure has. A few days a week actually.
Each morning she cooks breakfast, heads off to work, puts in eight hours (if not more), pops to the supermarket to pick up some ingredients for dinner on her way back, cooks dinner, gives our son a bath, brushes his teeth and then gets him into bed. Then, and only then, does she have any time for herself.
Thankfully, I’m able to help her out with some of the chores which makes her life a bit easier.
I do the laundry, vacuum, and take our son to school. I even cook every now and then.
Now most of the time we don’t give this a second thought. It’s just part of our of our daily lives.
But, the other day, I overheard some mothers talking outside of my son’s daycare and all they were talking about was how little time they had (and yet, they had time to chat outside – lol).
It got me thinking about the things we can never have enough of. I came up with these:
- Time
- Resources
- Friends
- Family
- You
Time is a given. Like my wife, millions of people all over the world struggle to find the time to fit everything in. In my book, iSucceed, I talk about how time is more valuable than gold. I still believe that.
It’s why I have spent the better part of a month putting together a PowerPoint presentation to use for my time mastery seminar.
What I wouldn’t have given to have learned the secrets contained within it back in high school. By more effectively managing our time, we free up time to do the things we can’t “find” the time for.
As for resources, there used to be a time, not that long ago, when resources were a premium.
Today, thanks to Google, YouTube and Amazon, we have access to practically anything you can think of.
Click, click, click and the next thing you know you’ve got a package delivered to the door mere hours after you placed an order for it.
Looking for an answer? No need to traipse down to the local library sifting through book after book for an answer, now all you need to do is whip out your smartphone or just onto your computer and you’ll have your answer in under a minute.
Ironically, people today, despite having access to what seems to be limitless knowledge, seem to know less about how to use it than people who grew up without it. I can’t tell you how many of my younger clients seem to struggle to find answers online. Quite interesting.
The thing is, we never know when we might need something. Growing up, parents relied on encyclopedias.
Today, there’s no need to stockpile a bunch of books. The Kindle or iPad can hold thousands of books and with search capability, it means you can track down information at the drop of a hat.
As for friends, I’m not talking about Facebook friends. I’m also not talking about “friends” that you happen to talk to every now and then when you happen to run into them or have some time to kill. I’m talking about genuine friends that will be there for you when you need them.
True friends are the people who will stand by you no matter what. Whether you make a million dollars, or lose a million dollars, they’ll still be by your side.
Treat your friends with the respect they deserve. There will come a time you’ll be glad you did.
Family is special.
Nothing can replace a strong family bond.
Sure, there are days when you’re at each others’ throats. There will be times when you are so frustrated you’ll want to scream. But family is family.
And while we can pick our friends, we don’t get any say in who parents and siblings are.
Today, people are marrying and remarrying and the whole family dynamics are changing. It’s not that simple anymore what with half brothers and step sisters.
Me, my family was just me, my mom and my dad as we left England when I was young. Being away from our extended family really helped deepen our bond and it is one I will cherish for as long as I am around. However, there are times when I forgot to tell my parents just how much they meant to me, how I appreciated all their sacrifices.
Now, as I raise my son, I make sure to tell him all our crazy stories and without saying it, just how important family is. Because it is.
Finally, there’s you.
Unfortunately, at any one moment any number of people may be vying for your attention.
Maybe your boss needs you to come in to deal with an issue that only you can fix. Any number of friends might want you to come on over as you’re the life of the party. It could be your son or daughter wants you to spend time with them as they haven’t seen you all week. Or maybe it’s a spouse who is feeling neglected.
On top of that you have those things that you want to do. Maybe it’s reading that book you got for your birthday. A river you want to go fishing with your friends. Or perhaps it’s the next big thing that will make you rich beyond your wildest dreams.
The point is, there is only so much you to go around. You need to ensure that you get everything done that you need to get done.
In the self-help industry the word “abundance” is thrown around a lot and while I do agree the earth provides us with everything we could ever need, these are five things we can never get enough of.
Adrian Shepherd