Time. The ultimate currency….
“The true currency of life is time, not money, and we’ve all got a limited stock of that”
- Robert Harris
In our modern world, money reigns supreme. Many of us spend our lives trading hours, days, weeks, months and eventually years for the money it costs to live a comfortable lifestyle. But we also get caught up in the illusion that we never have enough money. We chase after the almighty dollar to afford more and more, when, if we were perfectly honest with ourselves, most of us have enough already and wish we had more time to enjoy it!
While money is most definitely necessary and important for survival and happiness, most of us need much less of it than we believe we do. Once our basic needs are met (security, food, clothing, shelter, heat, electricity, transport) research suggests we don’t need much more money to be happy. You always hear that some of the poorest people on Earth are the happiest, and here in the developed world where we have the highest incomes, standards of living and quality of life, a growing number of people are suffering from depression, anxiety and general dissatisfaction with life. Why is that? Are we spending our time on the things that matter to us most? Perhaps not.
Time is your most valuable possession. It's worth more than any amount of money you can ever accumulate. We are rich with it, no matter how much of it we have left and it represents a space where we are all truly equal, with no classes, success or socio-economic orientation separating us. We can use our time on things that don't matter, like unfulfilling paid work, obsessing over domestic cleanliness, wondering how you'll respond to an online conversation or spending mindless time on social media. When we have only a set amount of time in this lifetime, why would we choose to spend it on such inconsequential things? Yet, it seems we do.
Time is the currency of our life transformation and change. Applied with intent, you will improve your finances, health, relationships, career or any one of your life buckets. The reality of life is that people use their currencies differently. Successful people have figured out how to invest their time with efficiency. Running a schedule and owning their currency like it’s their last cent and dedicating it accordingly. Others not so aware of the finite nature of this currency tend to wallow is its absence ‘I wish I had more time’. Here’s the harsh reality: we don’t have ‘more’ and you are in control of what you have left and what you do with it because eventually time runs out and the quality of it wanes as life rolls on. If we were all truly connected to that concept, we would all approach each day, each conversation and each experience with difference and intention.
If you feel a bit stuck and battling your time and want a different outcome than what you are getting right now, figuring out how to use your finite currency is crucial. Better health means spending some of your currency exercising daily or choosing good habits that can improve your mind and body. Improving relationships means investing some of your time in experiences and activities that can improve the quality of your connection. It also means prioritising communication with those you love. Time will always be free but it’s invaluable. Your success in life largely depends on how you plan to spend, invest, or use time. You can control how you spend it by defining your life buckets and a life vision then investing your time to creating a path to reach that vision. If you focus on the allocation of time through action not the product (eg money, health more sex etc) you are more likely to get the results you desire as your actions will align to take you on a journey to realise your vision. Many people desire to do better but haven’t defined a better use of their time to get to where they want to be. As a result, they fall short of productive actions. The irony is that they are spending their currency on something, except those things are not delivering the results they truly want.
You can only change your life if you change what you do consistently. You have 168 hours a week — are you spending or investing it? However, you want to invest your currency, think about the long-term implications of your present actions. Your present life is the result of how you invested or spent your currency in the past. If you feel you don’t control how you spend your time right now, focus pockets of time in your day or week to invest in the process to move your life towards a vision of how you’d rather be spending your time. A clear vision and courageous action is crucial to maximise the quality of your time.
Whatever you are exchanging a part of your life for, make sure is worth it. Put a price on your time. Choose your behaviours, events, activities, habits, routine, and experiences wisely. Time is precious — but how you use it says a lot about how you value it. Remember, you can’t create more, store, speed up, slow or reverse time. So, making the most of it right now with a clear vision and plan, in this moment, is your best shot at putting it to great use.