WHAT OPRAH KNOWS FOR SURE ABOUT MAKING THE MOST OF TIME
Image by Myriam Zilles for Pixaby
It’s 7:07 a.m. I’ve watched the “Eye Opener” on CBS This Morning and checked out what Gayle is wearing (yellow, with a rock crystal necklace). Squirrels who’d been playfully tumbling in the yard scurry up the oak branches as I let the dogs out the kitchen door. Tea is brewing, almond milk foaming. My day begins.
And by 4 p.m., if I’m not thoughtfully aware, I’ll be asking myself, Where did another day go?
It’s so easy to lose track of time without a physical product to show for it or measure it against.
When I was doing The Oprah Winfrey Show, the measure was the show. Two a day: Mission accomplished. Begin work on the next one.
Now I can spend hours in a meeting and not see the results of that meeting for weeks. I have to consciously plan and organize my schedule to be more efficient, to give myself more time at home, where I’m happiest and most content.
That means all the principles I’ve been talking and writing about for years in this magazine need to bear fruit.
Intention: I don’t do anything without thinking of the why behind the why of doing it.
Clarity: I have to know what I want and the best way to achieve it.
Authenticity: I don’t get pulled into other people’s stuff that doesn’t serve me well.
I want to spend my days maximizing happiness. Mine and that of the people with whom I choose to share my joy. (I get joy when I give it. So I’m constantly thinking of ways to delight folks with kindness.)
I don’t squander time. I know for sure that we all get the same 24/7. And that no hour is guaranteed. I never want to be doing nothing unless nothing is what I want.
So how do I make the most of every minute, even when I’m stuck in what looks like parking-lot traffic on the way to Anaheim or delayed on the tarmac due to mechanical problems?
I practice being fully present and remember that all stress is caused by wanting this moment to be something it’s not. I inhale what is. I accept this time for whatever it has to show me.
And I look for the stillness beneath all the noise of the world, where everything is timeless.
By Oprah Winfrey
http://www.oprah.com/inspiration
