“If you want to direct your life on a path of continual positive change, then you need to tap into the most powerful force for change in the universe. Fortunately for you, that force is always with you, ready to lend a hand if you just ask. That force is time.”
I’m currently reading The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson, and this quote stood out to me. It changes the narrative from time happening to us, to time happening for us. This is powerful, because we’ve so often been conditioned that time is limited and is passing us by. We’re taught that time is something we lose — that aging means losing our youth rather than gaining wisdom. We rarely approach the passing of time as an opportunity to better ourselves in some way.
This also resonates with me because there are many times I write in my journal, “If I [worked out for just 30 minutes every day] (enter wishful habit in brackets) and I look back in a year, I could have achieved [goal x] , a year wouldn’t have felt so long and it would have passed anyway, right?”
It’s so logical, but why is it so hard? Well, paraphrasing Olson, we’re creatures who need immediate results. He states when we plant a seed in the ground, we cultivate the seed then harvest it. As humans, we’ve conditioned ourselves to plant seeds, like go to the gym for a couple of days, then harvest immediately (step on the scale) and wonder why we don’t see the results we were expecting. We want quantum leaps, not small shifts.
We don’t let time work for us. How do we change this relationship with time?
I think it’s a simple reminder that regardless of what choice we make, time will pass – the clock will continue to tick. So what is the downside of making the seemingly mundane choice that will lead your life in a more positive direction in 30 days, 6 months, 1 year’s time? Work out for 30 minutes a day, read a book for 10 minutes a day, write for 20 minutes — these small habits can lead to big results. As Olson states, you probably won’t notice a difference in a few days, or even a few weeks, but there is a compounding effect with both positive and negative habits, so pick where you want to see your future self, start with those habits and make time work for you.
I’ve decided to take this rather mundane challenge and check in every now and again to see if making small, positive choices indeed compound over time. I’ve selected a couple, but will share them at a later time when I have some data to back up whether this works or not! Will you come on this journey with me, and see if Jeff Olson’s theories hold true?
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