đHOW TO BEAT 'TIME ANXIETY'- Issue 188
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Most of us always struggled with one recurring thought that never really leaves us: âItâs too late.â
Too late to learn new skill, too late to pickup a new sport or publish a book, too late to start a company, too late to learn a new language etc.etc. I call this as a time anxiety. During the week , I was grappling with similar thoughts to find a sensible way out in this self -psychological warfare.
The number of skills I havenât acquired and the opportunities I didnât take are the very thought which are frankly capable of making anyone infuriating. I have managed to get over such thoughts and, found few strategies which works very well.
Let me start with a famous quote ;-
âMen are not prisoners of fate, but only prisoners of their own minds.â
Franklin D. Roosevelt.
To understand the time anxiety in practical sense, itâs appropriate to draw a comparison of two extremities;- Every living being profoundly have a death anxiety, which is the fear of running out of time whereas on the contrary - time anxiety is the fear of wasting your time. Itâs an obsession about spending your time in the most meaningful way possible. And when society tells us Or when we interpret signs from society as saying that - itâs too late to achieve a particular goal and sadly we do perceive it as meaningful enough owing to certain self defined parameters. I have realised is that âTime Anxiety â can take several forms:
Current time anxiety: The daily feeling of being rushed makes us feel overwhelmed and panicky. Some people also experience anxiety attacks because of the day-to-day stress caused by this type of time anxiety.
Future time anxiety: Certain set of thoughts about what may or may not happen in the future become the cause of worry. Additionally ,âwhat ifâ types of internal questions add on the trouble some anxiety.
Existential time anxiety: A strong sense of lost time slipping away and never to return, which many people experience in a more acute way when thinking about death.
I was reading đ a book of Dr. Alex Lickerman, the author of The Undefeated Mind: On the Science of Constructing an Indestructible Self, and this is what he says â time anxiety stems from some of the following questions:
âAm I creating the greatest amount of value with my life that I can? Will I feel, when it comes my time to die, that I spent too much of my time frivolously?â
Time anxiety does not necessarily mean that you believe in an outside force that has assigned a purpose to your life and that you have yet to discover. It just means that your well-being is determined to a large extent by the importance of the value you feel you are creating with your life.
But, paradoxically, this over-optimisation may prevent us from creating the most value in our lives. We limit ourselves by always calculating the best potential outcome through our personal perception of possible.
Beating time anxiety means shifting our focus from outcomes to output so we can spend our energy on things we can actually control.
Beating time anxiety: from outcomes to output
According to Tanya J. Peterson, the author of The Mindfulness Journal for Anxiety, itâs important to accept a few truths to be able to feel in control of your daily time and your lifetime. First, time exists and we canât change that. Time will move forward, and so will we. Accepting these simple yet daunting truths is the first step in reducing time anxiety.
Here are three steps you can take to reduce time anxiety while still finding meaning in your day-to-day life:
Define what âtime well spentâ means to you: sit down, and think about what really makes you happy and get you in flow, without overthinking about how feasible the final outcome would be. Just think of your output and how it makes you feel to work on producing it. For example, donât think about how happy it would make you to publish a book. Ask yourself if you really enjoy writing. Donât think about how proud you would be to run a marathon. The question is whether you like running. Create a short list of activities you really enjoy and that bring value to yourself or to the world.
Make space for these moments: This does not mean making time for them. Instead, think of where you will incorporate these moments into your life. Maybe on your way to work. Maybe at home, after the kids are asleep. Or maybe spending time with your kids is the activity you want to make space for. If you happen to have less time than expected, thatâs completely fine. Itâs more about designing a space dedicated to your âtime well spentâ activities. This reminds me a famous quote of Maria -
âIf we take care of everyday moments, the years will take care of themselves.â
By _ Maria Edgeworth
Cut out time-consuming distractions: The moments we spend mindlessly scrolling on social media or watching random videos do contribute to time anxiety. Do a quick audit of your content consumption patterns and try to cut out the amount of time you spend in an input rather than output mode.
Take good care & enjoy reading this week's dose of âMindful Productivity & Cerebral Happinessâ.
Joe
â¤ď¸ đ§ Few things in which I stayed invested during the weekđ§¤đ§¤
ARTICLE/BLOG POST - Itâs important to value yourself and Setting Emotional Boundaries early can help in setting the pace right.
đMY ABSORPTION FOR THE MONTH :-âŹď¸
Talent Code __By Daniel Coyle
đ§ Book, Iâm Currently Reading:-đâŹď¸
The Snakes in Ganga_By Rajiv Malhotra
đ§ BOOKS ON MY MIND FOR ABSORPTION:-đđâŹď¸
Good Leaders Ask Great Questions_ By John C Maxwell
The Girl who Touched the Stars _ By Bonnie Hancock
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You are a perfect example of maintaining timelines. Keep it up!