The Fear of Time

“Do not let the fear of the time it will take to accomplish something stand in the way of you doing it. The time will pass anyway; you might just as well put that passing time to the best possible use…” — Earl Nightingale

I would be hard pressed to convey to you how often I have felt there was not enough time to complete my dreams. Even as a young boy in high school I did not believe there was enough time to go through all that was supposedly necessary in order to become what I needed to be to have what I wanted to have. For some unknown reason, at least to me, time has always seemed so limited and unfortunately, it has seemed this way my entire life.

It is true as the years have gone by I have watched as others did their time by going through the necessary schooling to obtain the education to accomplish what it was they sought to do or become. I found interesting the fact these young people were good at going to school; they were good in class; good at study and good at doing all the necessary things it takes to get through the required programs. It seemed as if they understood the need for the correct and necessary preparation.

In the mean time however, I was seeking to obtain my goal or dream by going after “it,” rather than learning or preparing first and thus obtaining “it” through the proper channels and skills. It was as if those who went to college knew this was a necessary step on their way to getting or becoming what they sought. I, on the other hand, never saw it that way for it appeared to me these other steps were unnecessary time wasters. It was my belief I would achieve my goals long before they graduated; I would also go on to achieve even more than they as I had a head start. Ah, but little did I know…

As I said above, even before graduating from high school there was so much I wanted to do and accomplish, but my mind was awash with the fear of not having enough time to get it done or accomplished. It was as if I had to start and start now or time would run out. For some reason I never saw there was a better way to get or achieve the same end result with less heartache and reduced anxiety by following a path called correct preparation. Truth be told, I believed I already had and knew all that was necessary to achieve or accomplish the task. In a simple way this is true for one can, by placing their thoughts on a specific thing, have their mind begin the process of setting up and aligning all that is necessary to become or achieve that upon which the mind is set. THIS HOWEVER, IS NOT UNLIKE GOING TO SCHOOL TO GET THE NECESSARY EDUCATION. The only difference is we often have no idea what it is we want when we are going to college. The result is we go to college and get education for something we never spend much if any time doing. As a matter of fact, we often do not know until a few years after graduating what it is we want to do. In many cases we wind up doing something entirely different than that for which we obtained a degree.

In many cases many people just go to college to go, but don’t know what it is they want to do. They wind up getting a degree of some sort, but have neither an idea of what to do nor any aspirations or heartfelt longings to follow it. Our youngest daughter recognized this fact previous to entering college therefore; she decided not to take the normal college or university route as it seemed to be a time and money waster. We encouraged her so she did attend a junior college, however at that time she had no desire for anything specific. What she did was to seek the counsel of one of her teachers. The teacher asked her what she enjoyed doing or if she had any type of gift. After the two of them wrote down all that came to mind she was encouraged to attend a specific type of college, which catered to those who knew exactly what they wanted and as a result could get their degree in less time with less money. She did just that. Interestingly enough, she is not in that field today and neither are most of those in the field of that for which they attended college. Such is life. Life is college in and of itself.

The bottom line is this: I always knew what I wanted, but didn’t recognize I could go to school to get the necessary skills to get it quicker and easier. Although I did not attend a formal college, I did attend HKU or Hard Knocks University; as a matter of fact I am still attending. This is a school all attend whether they have attended a formal college or not. There is a difference between what you learn and how you apply it; everyone finds that out after they join the real world. As I said, I started early; I became a licensed drywall contractor in my state at the age of eighteen. Had someone said to me, “Hey, you can get some better skills to run your drywall business and possibly outsmart your competition if you attend our school?” I more than likely would have attended. The thought never crossed my mind to attend college for drywall. I didn’t wind up being in that field very long anyway, but the education for running a smarter business would have applied to any business I chose.

What I do now know is time is as precious as any commodity. As a matter of fact, time is what is used to purchase everything. Time is that which is converted into currency and either invested or spent to get that which you need and want. Time is what it takes when you plant a seed for it takes time to germinate and mature before one can benefit from that for which the seed was planted. There is no need to fear time, but there is a need to respect it.

Modern scientists have proven one can be an expert in any field in just five years’ time, if they will spend one hour per day studying in that field. Think of it, just one hour per day for five years. Well, that adds up to 1825 hours. Had I actually had full realization of this being nearly one years’ worth of work, just to become something or get that for which I sought, more than likely this would have struck a level of fear in my heart. I would have feared I didn’t have enough time to spend 1825 hours or five years of my life doing this so, I may not have started.

If however, I had taken a different view, wherein I respected what was being done with my time, I would have realized this investment of time would have set me apart from those not willing to do the same. I would have realized time would have been my ally by helping me hone in the skills as well as become the expert in that given field.

I decided to follow that advice and as a result I became an expert in several fields without too much thought. Many of you have done the same. It is all in how we view it: enemy or friend. If your view is with the mindset you will not have enough then you will not have enough. If your view is to respect the time you have; recognizing it is best invested doing something worthwhile and beneficial then I suggest you get started. Fear not, but have faith in what can be accomplished through the proper use of your time. Set your mind to expect the best then let the properly invested time bring it to you. If you follow this example, what you want will come to you.

Best of LUCK as you
Labor Under Correct Knowledge…

Respectfully,

Rick Cox