Minutes, hours, days, weeks, years — when the timing hits just right it makes us feel like our lives are on track and in the flow. When timing does not meet expectations, we can start to feel worried, lost and frustrated; the mind taking off in a million directions. Yet, in the big picture, the real importance of time is how we perceive and make use of it. So what’s all the fuss for?
People naturally create and project a timeline that matches the strength of desire. Using that as a guidepost, we sometimes transform time into a tool of judgement, using it to measure or determine success for ourselves and others, or making it a deciding factor in whether something is worth it.
And yeah, we ALL do it. The trick is catching yourself before it rolls too far. Here are some common thoughts and worries about time and timing. I’m sure you can relate to one if not many of them:
- When is my time?
- Do I have time?
- Will I finish in time?
- Is there enough time?
- When will the timing be “right?”
- How much time do I have to squeeze in everything?
- I never have enough time to do what I want
- When will I know so I can take action?
- Why does my timing seem to be off while others always seem to hit it “just right?”
A dimension of these limiting thoughts has trickled through our brains at some point, forcing us into fear or blocking the flow of energy towards our goals altogether. And when time is hailed as the most important factor, it can kick up a variety of feelings and insecurities, as well as create problems that really only exist in the mind.
Wrangling in Expectations
I’ve been struggling with my own perceptions of time very personally these last few weeks, as I ache to move forward with things in a way that’s different than how they are actually unfolding time wise right now. It’s been maddening, especially at first when I watched myself frantically trying to figure out something I could DO (technically speaking) to make things move along more smoothly, but in reality, they are tasks best left to experts. That means I had to flow with their time table, but I also had to find the right balance of push back to meet my required timeline.
My mental gymnastics combined with plain old frustration, although irritating, offered me something that I obviously needed to revisit about my own perceptions of time, but the experience also shed some new insights on energies for the upcoming cycle. As collaboration becomes more predominant as a way we want to operate as a society, it also means we need to be able to change how we view time. Your “immediate” may be someone else’s next week. Something perceived as urgent may simply just be someone’s ego desire to want it NOW.
But there is beauty in the waiting. Something new can be learned, uncovered or explored. And you may also notice how you are using time as a tool of judgement, a way to enforce unreasonable expectations or simply as a tool to distract yourself from your own emotions.
Unfolding into the Flow
Giving life time to unfold as it will is a standard truth we all need to accept. Worry won’t make it happen faster, better or create anything but stress on the mind and body. It’s a very important lesson that I’m continuing to learn through my own life experience.
The only way you can enhance your experience in relation to the timing of life events is to do the inner work to clear the blocks out of the way and allow the space for healing. Fears, frustrations, grudges, unrealistic expectations, out-dated mental tapes — these are all speed bumps in the way of you getting to the happier, smoother roads ahead and the positive adventures you will have along the way.
The most important things you miss when too focused on timing are the simple signs along the way that actually inspire guidance or offer external reassurance you are in the flow and exactly where you need to be. Dwelling on how long something is taking often leaves simple cues and synchronicities unnoticed.
After all, the most engaging stories are always about life unexpected!