Do you remember when we were kids and made our Christmas list weeks before Christmas or were out of school for the summer?

Time seemed to last forever. It did for me. I wondered why, as an adult, I feel like time moves so quickly.

 

I had to find out why.

The first thing I thought about was that, as adults, we have a lot more to do. We spend most of our days doing some activity; our conscious brains get lost in action, and time escapes us. Sometimes we do things on autopilot. Like, when you’re driving on a familiar road and think, was that light green that I went through? I don’t remember! Lost in thought on auto-pilot gets us places, but we also lose track of time.

The only accurate measure of time is when we pay attention to it. 

I mean, if you think about it, we only know what time it is when we look at a clock. Except for my mother, who claims she has an internal alarm that wakes her up when she wants. I find that fascinating since I need an alarm to get me up. Then I know what time it is. Now, there are exceptions, like noting where the sun is and estimating the time by the way it sits in the sky. The ancient people used sundials to tell time. Again, fascinating!

Then I wonder (I do wonder a lot – haha) if we pay attention to time, we can make it last longer. And yes, I believe that to be so. A good example is when you are doing something boring; you become fixated on the clock. It seems like it moves so slowly. It does because you’re paying attention to it.

 

So that’s the answer to giving yourself more time; pay attention to it! And guess what? By doing that, you are now living in the present moment, where living is! Think about this, when you focus on the present moment, you can feel anything you choose. You can think happy thoughts and feel relaxed. You can ruminate about your past and get down in the dumps. You can even focus on an affirmation that you want to come true in your life, such as “I am living my dream!” and see where that gets you. Focusing on the present moment gets you in the driver’s seat of your time and life! How cool is that?

It’s so simple to give the greatest gift to yourself – more time. Pay attention to where your thoughts lead you and stay in the present moment. If your thoughts wander, that’s fine! Just catch your focus and get back to the present. No biggie. Just try it for a few days and see how your life improves. If it doesn’t, check out what thoughts you are thinking. Are they positive and uplifting? If not, try to think about good things, things you are grateful for, that will always make your mood shift to the positive.

Hey, good luck and give yourself the gift of a precious present! Let me know in the comments how it goes!

To a beautiful, incredible, so happy you want to scream it out loud life,

Francesca