(or fail miserably…)
Did you know there are 168 hours in a week? Well I didn’t.
But the other day I was watching the Today Show (Matt Lauer is simply dreamy) and they were doing a segment on a new book by Laura Vanderkam entitled 168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think. (Click Here to watch the clip).
As the title suggests it is about maximizing your time.
I have yet to read the book, but Vanderkam made some really interesting points during the interview. One suggestion she had was to log how you are spending your time, which she equated to logging your food when your are trying to lose weight. It keeps you accountable.
I know just what she means and I beat this point into my clients heads daily.
One particular point she made really struck a chord with me. Differentiating between a true time deficit and an excuse can be illustrated with simple semantics. It’s not that we do not have time to do something, it is just that we have not made it a priority.
We have not made it a PRIORITY.
She says to change your language from “I don’t have the time” to “It is not a priority” and see what happens.
This gets harder to do given the situation. She gives the example of telling our kids, “I’m not going to read to you sweetie because it is not a priority.”
This rings so true when it comes to the biggest and I mean BIGGEST reason (i.e. excuse) I hear from people regarding health and fitness: that they do not have the time.
And now thanks to Laura Vanderkam I can say with some certainty that this is complete and total bullsh!t.
Yes you do have time, sadly it is just not a priority.
You have 168 hours every week to get shiz done, the same as every other person on the planet. Even if you work 40 and sleep 8 hours a night you still have 72 hours for other stuff.
If you are not prioritizing your health you will soon be spending many of those spare 72 hours in the care of a physician.
Take a moment to take stock. What is important to you? What is truly a priority and what is not?
You have 168 opportunities every week to change your life for the better. You can no longer say “I don’t have time”, because now you know you do.
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Joshua Carter, CPT |
