Stop the Clock – I Want to Get Off

By Anna Cook–

You may (or may not) know that I am half Irish – and proud of it! The Irish blood, passions and adventurous spirit runs strongly in my veins which means I tend to turn to Irish authors and such for quotes when writing. This one is particularly apt, not to mention it comes from one of my better known family members!

“We spend our lives on the run: We get up by the clock, eat and sleep by the clock, get up again, go to work – and then we retire. And what do they give us? …A clock!”     Dave Allen

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What is our fixation with time? Why do we have to have deadlines? Why do we feel time is running out? Particularly as we get older, some of us feel that we don’t have as much time left so we have to do everything quickly to make sure we get it done. What does it give us? What is the benefit of this constant pressure of watching the clock?

If you read again what Dave Allen says – we do everything by the clock… All our lives we have put ourselves under pressure to buy our house, get that wonderful promotion, achieve a specific goal by a certain month or year. We have been so fixated on the deadline and making absolutely sure we reach our target that most of us were too busy to think about, let alone enjoy, what we were doing along the way.

If we talk about the life goals and objectives that we were rushing to achieve, at our age now, 50+, we likely have completed most of them, so what do we feel now we are there? For most people it is a big, empty question mark! We have what we were aiming for, but now that we do are we amazingly happy? Are we content and fulfilled or do we feel a little lost, not quite sure what to do next?

These targets, deadlines, running around are an ingrained habit, but we can change this, we can stop the clock, get off the hamster wheel and start enjoying the ‘doing’! How amazing it would be if we started to take pleasure in what we do as we do it, instead of panic about finishing it and getting on to the next thing!

If getting older is worrying you, or you are conscious of ageing, maybe even thinking about the things you wish you had done, you might unconsciously be worrying about time passing you by. You need to change your mindset – think and say to yourself “Great, now I am older I can take the time to really do what I enjoy, and enjoy what I do!”

Stop watching the clock, go with the flow or if you can’t switch off the clock watching habit completely, start by chunking – give yourself chunks of the day where you stay in the moment, relax and enjoy your present actions. Actively look around you, think about what you are doing, what you like about it, what parts you enjoy, the energy and good sensations of the action. Feel the satisfaction, the pleasure of taking the time to do something you relish, appreciate all that is going on around you.

I will give you an example, yesterday I was out walking the dogs just before dawn but stressed and in a rush because I had an early client and also an urgent business problem to sort out; so I was scuttling along, head down just thinking about all I had to do before speaking to my first client and how I had to do x, y and z to fix the problem. Thank goodness, I caught myself acting like this and made the choice to stop, tell myself off and change my mindset. After that, I continued on my walk, but this time really seeing the first signs of the sun peeping over the horizon, watching the light playing shadows with the mist, seeing the dogs running across the fields and listening to the sounds of the countryside beginning to wake up. It was a beautiful start to the day – I love dawn, sunrise, misty mornings and being out walking with the dogs. Not only did I enjoy the moment (and stop watching the clock) but I came home feeling happy, positive, energized and with a big smile on my face. My stress had gone, I was in the present moment, which in turn helped me focus clearly on the problem when the time came without the pressure or frantic panic about time. The fact that I had really relaxed into the moment boosted my whole day and completely changed my feelings and sensations…

Whether you are still working, or are already retired, whatever you are doing, make it quality time not clock time – ‘feel’ and ‘enjoy’ your actions and thoughts throughout the day, you will be delighted with the whole new world of peace and positivity that opens its arms to you.

Try it and see.

 

Anna Letitia Cook is Founder and CEO of WomenUP Ltd and creator of the process SCOPE for career, fulfilment and success. She has a passion for inspiring women to shape their own future, incorporating their own values, beliefs and sense of purpose to achieve their objectives. She has two grown children. Currently she lives in France and works internationally. 
 

 

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Stop the Clock – I Want to Get Off
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