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Not unlike millions of other people at various times in their lives, a few weeks ago, I was having somewhat of an undesirable day at work, and I wanted nothing more than to make the clock go faster and go home for the day.
Upon expressing this desire to a friend of mine, I was told, “Don’t wish your life away”.
Ever since my friend uttered that chiding, but necessary, comment it’s really stuck with me.How much time have I wasted and lost just because I was unhappy and wanted to move on to something else?
How many of you do the same thing?
God gives us the precious gift of time — not all of it sunshine and flowers — and all we want to do is hurry up and wait for the next block of time we want to pass by.
Looking for gifts on bad days
More often than not, if we’re having a bad day, there is nothing we can do to fix it other than to wish it away.
I think I would be quite frightened to learn how many minutes I have willed and wasted away during my modest 37 years of life.
There are two solutions to this problem.
One is to stop having so many bad days, which could be a topic for another writing, and I’ll leave this method and its execution up to all of you.
The other, and slightly easier solution, is to make the most of a bad day and get what we can out of it.
A “perk” of my job is meetings, lots of meetings.
Obviously, the pandemic has changed the dynamic of some of these, and a fair amount of meetings consist of me talking to humans in boxes on a computer screen, but there are still some (safe) in-person meetings I am a part of.
With my workload and my attempts to efficiently accomplish all of my tasks, sometimes these meetings can feel a little inconvenient.
Most of my meetings are quite practical and they help me do my job better, but when some topics touch on how to have better meetings or take 15 minutes to decide when the next meeting should be, it becomes harder to be subtle in my facial expressions.
Sometimes I’ll reflect more on the meeting hour that I “spent” versus the hour that I was “given” by God.
So, if it’s part of His divine plan that I be at these meetings, how can I make the most of it?
I can pre-plan topics and be more engaged, listen to others talk (especially those whom I don’t know too well), help things move along efficiently contribute to a positive experience for others, and give thanks that I’m in a position where I can attend these meetings and people want to hear my thoughts and ideas.
Here’s a challenge: Find a not-so-favorite part of your day and determine one good thing about it.
It could be what you listen to on the radio during your stressful commute, it could be how comfy your chair is at work, it could be that you can afford a nice TV package and watch all of your favorite sports even if you have to come home from a rough day at work every day.
Start now
If you’re reading this and reflecting on the fact that you’ve wasted a lot of time by hoping the clock would go faster, don’t let that ruin your day.
Now is a great time to start making the most of all of the time you have.
It’s all about how you finish, right?
I’m not proposing a “fake it ’til you make it” attitude for all bad days, but you can find something positive and beat the bad day at its own game.
Don’t let it defeat you.
Here’s another challenge, a small one: When you find yourself wishing it would be later in the day, say a prayer. That is certainly not time wasted.
Maybe God was trying to get your attention all along. He can help us get through the rough times better than we can on our own.
And, if nothing else works, and you’re able to, take a nap. Time well spent. 🙂