“I don’t have enough money.”

“I don’t have enough time.”

 

Most often, the complaint “I don’t have enough time,” whether expressed out loud or kept within one’s own mind, is the more insidious and chronic of these two universal complaints.

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Since the refrain, "I don't have enough money," most often disappears right after "I don't have enough time" is no longer an issue, we'll address the time issue here.

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You've been stuck in the wrong question, "How can I get more time?"

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When a complaint, like “I don’t have enough time" remains fundamentally unsolved it’s a strong indication that the problem, as identified, is not the problem at all. Its current mistaken identification is what keeps us from finding the solution.

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More time will not solve the problem

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Most of us realize that if we were magically granted a 36-hour day, it would not be long before we again had the problem of “not enough time.”

 

The real problem is not that we don’t have enough time; the real problem is that we have chosen accomplishment, usually by cultural default and pressure, to be the “lead horse” or primary theme of our life. Accomplished is the coin of the realm by which we judge our worthiness as a human being.

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Accomplishment! Accomplishment! Accomplishment!

 

For almost all of us, the “lead horse” of our life is accomplishment. The more, the better. Who do we admire? Who are we inspired by? The person who accomplishes so much. The person who works so hard.

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Study, work, clean, cook, help, do...

 

Study hard. Get the best grades. Take the most classes. Work hard. Hold down two jobs. Take on another project. Go to the gym. Do everything for the kids. Have the cleanest house. Cook the best meals. Help others. The focus is always on more accomplishment and working hard.

 

Never waste time. Never do nothing. The success of our life is measured by our accomplishments.

 

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Time becomes the problem

    

Let’s do this more efficiently so I can get to that. Focus more on what really counts. Delegate. Sleep less. Stop wasting time on Facebook. Plan the day better. 

 

I must hurry up with this so I won’t be late for that. Where can I find time for exercise when I don’t have enough time for sleep?

 

Time will always be a problem as long as accomplishment is the lead horse.

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Introducing: the new lead horse of your life

 

To solve the problem of time, you must follow a new lead horse. This new lead horse is the continuing process and dance of creating and expressing your moment-by-moment, hour-by-hour, day-by-day, year-by-year life and living as a work of art, a work of art that inspires you, that calls to you, that’s so good you would wish it on your best friend! A life of joyous self-expression.

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Accomplishment will still be there as the "following horse"

 

Certainly, accomplishment will still be an important part of your life. But it will not be the lead horse. It will be the “following horse” that is guided by the lead horse. Accomplishment will be subservient to the enjoyable flow and process of your life.

 

Accomplishment will owe its primary reason for being to how well it serves the process of creating and expressing your life as an enriching, fascinating, and dynamic work of art. I sometimes exaggerate, but only by a little when I say, "Ninety-nine percent of the reason to do anything or go for any result is so that you can enjoy the journey."

 

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Do you have too much time?

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As a side note, for a few of you who have too much time, the issue is still the same: how to use accomplishment and goals to serve the expression of your life as a work of art. You are probably in rebellion against the idea of accomplishment being the lead horse. That's the opposite side of the same coin. The issue of having too much time arises from the same source as not having enough time: taking accomplishment as the lead horse.

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When people ask me, "Are you busy?" I respond, "I am leisurely busy."

 

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The benefits of accomplishment as your lead horse

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There are benefits of having accomplishment be your primary focus in life. It helps you to feel safer and more in control, even though it often creates opposite. It also gets you a lot of good PR and helps you look good to others. It feeds and reinforces your identity as a worthy human being.

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Courage: the way out

 

You will need to choose courage, step by step, in order to create and express your life as a work of art, and maintain that work of art as the primary focus in the design and expression of your life.

 

What would be the first choice of courage needed to create your life as the work of art you’ve always wanted?

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Check these out

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Do you have enough time (take 2)

Lifestyle first, results second

Process first

Getting paid twice (the only way to play)

What's the full idea of process first?

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