"Since thou art not sure of a Minute, throw not away an Hour." - Benjamin Franklin
The Value of Time
Our lives are composed of a finite amount of time. To waste time is to waste life itself. To avoid this folly, we must not engage in unfulfilling or unnecessary activity.
We must also avoid laziness and inactivity. Benjamin Franklin said “a Life of Leisure and a Life of Laziness are two Things.” Not all of life’s activities have equal merit. For instance, working on the production of your creation, whether it be a song, a business, or a quilt, is leisure. Laziness is watching a reality show. Laziness is surfing the web aimlessly. Laziness is excessive sleep.
Ayn Rand says that the unfocused mind is an unconscious one. Let us postpone our unconsciousness for our deaths so that we do not waste our lives as zombies.
"When you waste the gift of time you show that you are content to dwell in selfish mediocrity." - Brett McKay
Triumph over laziness
Combat laziness by trying new things to discover a new hobby or passion. Spend your time working on something meaningful in your leisure. Create something. Learn something. Explore somewhere. Meet someone. Do something.
The easiest way to conquer laziness is with a good book, so head over to your local library. Derek Sivers also has an amazing reading list complete with his notes. It’s so awesome I stole his idea! Thanks, Derek.
Work shouldn’t be hard
Work does not have to be something difficult or boring that we dread every Monday morning. If it is, take action to change it. In the meantime, start doing work that you love in your leisure time. You’ll know you’ve found something worth doing if it puts you in the state of flow where time passes incredibly quickly.
If you have ever started projects that you wish you saw through to the end, read the War of Art by Steven Pressfield. I have never read a more motivating or inspirational book in my life. Plus, you can read it cover to cover in a single sitting. In my case, it was two because halfway through I had to get up and finish cleaning my apartment and catch up on a project. I read it again every time I need a kick in the butt to get back on track.
72 Hours
There are 168 hours in a week. If you spend 40 at work and 56 sleeping (8 hours a night), you still have 72 hours. That’s a lot of time and a lot of life. Don’t waste it! Practice the virtue of Industry.
Feature photo by JESHOOTS.com from Pexels
