Live in a way that makes time your friend

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One of my personal values is to live deliberately. But what does that mean and how do we do it? For me it starts with two beliefs and ends with a little trick.

I believe that things can change. I can change and everything around me can change. I also believe that it’s possible for me to influence that change.

There are so many things within myself and my environment that I can control or influence, that if I work through them one by one, I will never run out. Think about that for a second.

Nelson Mandela believed this and its why he recited Invictus to his fellow prisoners on Robben Island.

I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

My little trick is to think about the direction of my life. I add up all my current habits, hobbies and relationships. From friendships to diet. Even how I spend, save and invest. What time I go to bed and wake up. My exercise routines and what I’m reading.

Then I hit fast forward in my mind and imagine where all this will lead me to in a year, 5 years and 20. Is this where I wanted to be?

Now I go back to the first principle and live deliberately. I am the captain. I can make course corrections. Shane Parish puts it well: “Live in a way that makes time your friend, not your enemy.”