It’s this time again: The time of the year where we seem to value time a little bit more. We look back and ask ourselves if we’ve spent it well and we think about how to allocate it more wisely in the year to come. So here are some thoughts on „the most valuable thing“ we can spend.
It’s an old truth: According to Google, credits for the phrase go to Theophrastus. 2.303 years later it feels truer than ever, but also more and more empty. We agree – and then we rush on.
What does it mean anyway? My best answer so far: Today, „spending time“ should be replaced with „paying attention“.
Think about it for a second: Whatever the situation, every time we check our phones, our thoughts are actually elsewhere. The more we do it, the lesser the quality of our time spent. Often, it’s wasted. On the other hand, the more we are in a moment, the more precious it becomes. Given the fact how often we pull-to-refresh, why not just face it: The smartphone has shifted our state of mind to „distracted by default“.
I am non judgemental about this. But from simply noticing and accepting it, it somehow follows the desire and the responsibility to do something about it, to observe it, to reclaim the attention and handle it more consciously – because hey! It’s the most valuable thing we have.
For 2016 I wrote, that I wanted to be more present.
It’s a good fight to pick again for 2017.