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Coach This Thought: I’m running out of time

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“Time keeps on slipping… into the future.” Steve Miller Band

Photo by Djim Loic on Unsplash

Time causes a great amount of stress. Well, actually time doesn’t cause stress at all. Our thoughts about time are what cause us stress. Time itself has absolutely no meaning. It’s just a law of our universe that as living creatures we have to live by.

“I’m running out of time.”

What’s a thought like this make you feel? Stressed? Pressured? Scared? Terrified even?

I’m running out of time

I’d be willing to bet money that A LOT of humans have this thought rattling around in their brains. Even if they aren’t aware of it, a thought like this can create a lot of low level anxiety.

Humans naturally have a preoccupation with time. It’s not surprising. As a living thing, your time is limited. There’s no getting around that fact. We can’t know if animals have any sense of aging and death, but with our higher intellectual factors, we sure do as humans.

The funny thing is, a thought like “I’m running out of time” is really a waste of your time. 

If this thought creates stress, panic, fear, or pressure, do you spend your time well when you’re caught up in those emotions?

I can tell you that I don’t act my best when feeling them. I want to hide. I get lost in negative thought. I want to numb myself with a drink or chocolate or too much TV. I definitely don’t show up as the human I want to be (while I still have time here). I waste my time doing momentary, self indulgent things to try and escape the negative feelings.

 

Thoughts about time

Thought creates emotion, there are very few exceptions to this. So what you think profoundly impacts that emotional state of your body. And the emotional state of your body profoundly impacts the actions you take, or the way you show up in this world.

Do you want show up through fear and angst and stress? Do you even think you have another choice? 

Well, you do. Through self awareness (the very same thing that creates awareness about time) you can get highly deliberate about the thoughts you think. And when you get deliberate about your thoughts, you get deliberate about your emotional state. 

Imagine if instead of feeling stress about time you felt peace. Imagine if instead of feeling fear you felt determined. What would you need to be thinking about time to trigger those emotions?

 

Time is positive

We can’t avoid time. Space and time are laws of this universe we live in. Pushing back against time and having a negative relationship with it is arguing against reality. 

So instead of viewing time as the enemy, consider putting a positive spin on it. What would that look like for you?

For me, I like to view time as a gift. If time didn’t exist, I wouldn’t have been born, gone through childhood, been certified as a coach, been married, had pets, built my body up, grown my hair long (over and over), met my friends and their children, celebrated birthdays, watched sunsets…

So many incredible things happen because time passes.

I’ve heard it said that time is the most valuable tool a human possesses. Yet so many of us forget that we can use time as a tool, and just lament how much time has gone by, and stress about how much time we have left.

I say “no more.”

Time is going to allow you to reach your goals, achieve your dreams, make your money, love the ones you love, and experience all the gifts that a human body can give you.

Make time yours. PLAN your life. Get deliberate about how you are going to use YOUR time, because it is your time.

 

Thought Counter Statements

Counter statements are a great tool to turn a thought around and consider a new way of thinking about something. Here are a few:

I’m running out of time -> I always have time (literally true, time is always there, just like the sky)

I’m out of time -> Time doesn’t run out

Time is so stressful -> Time is so relaxing (how can this be true for you?)

Time works against me -> Time works for me

I don’t have time -> I do have time (you ALWAYS have the choice of what you use your time for)

 

Work with me

Your conscious mind has a productive relationship with time. Your conditioned mind may not. I can help you separate out the two, and show you how to let go of destructive thoughts about time. 

Click here to schedule a complimentary coaching session with me.