When talking about the subject it is something that is different for everyone involved, however, the thing that is true for everyone is it is a finite resource & no matter how rich or wealthy you are, no matter how smart or logical you think you are, or how popular or favored you are as a person, we have the same 24 hours as the next person whether we are efficient or procrastinate with it, and we never know when that will end & the only promise is the day we are in not the past that is history or the future which isn’t here but the now, if we even get that. Time is a precious thing.
Time In A Nutshell
When dealing with time like I said before it is a finite and limited resource and deserves way more attention than just going on autopilot, oftentimes people doing well treat time as this consistent thing counting the hours but it’s not that whatsoever & can change whenever because life and people are unpredictable whether good or bad in hindsight. Time is a factor no matter what resources we have as an individual & requires our energy regardless of how short or long something is because that’s how it works also when talking time it is a preference that varies from person to person and thing to thing & different factors play into that constantly wherever they come from.
Efficiency and Time
In different parts of my journey time has been a factor in my schedule & what I have done in my life, in fall of 2015 I was hired as an instructional aide in L.M.I.S.D. working with Pre-K 3 & 4 (getting asked by the principal a week before the school year while coming to check on my mom from my job at Popeye’s covered in flour) for several months on top of fulfilling my duties as a teacher’s aide in the Pre-K staff doing things like tending to little people and educators constantly to covering everything focused in classes & content to even covering duties like cars or dismissal, I was working 7 days a week, after school, & Popeye’s, when the spring of 2016 I dropped Popeye’s & going to Baytown for work every weekend for school at University of Houston @ Clear Lake while still being an Aide for the school year of 15-16 & working after school, now fast forward to fall of 2016 after July 1st of the same year, after being terminated because La Marque I.S.D. was closed by the Texas government I was forced to reapply in Texas City I.S.D. which I worked as a substitute and worked after & before school till January of 2017, then from spring of 2017 to fall I went back to Prairie View A&M University to finish my degree by doing things before student teaching even through Hurricane Harvey happened and being in Galveston County, then once I got to spring of 2018 & was approved for student teaching, I would do that in the daytime & evenings afterwards would work Lyft because their is no pay for student teaching, & this was till I crossed the stage May 2018, finally from May 2018 to now I’ve been everything from hospitalized for sepsis, to rebuilding/recovering, a caregiver, & the list goes on for almost a two year period. The reason I bring this up near 5 year period (although long in nature depending on who you talk to) for the reason of the common denominator of the span being my efficiency when it comes to time, no matter if was working three jobs, going to school in between, doing Physical or speech therapy trying to improve where I could be independent again & function normally, or even was a caregiver for my grandmother for a time being which was very taxing physically & mentally and forced me to put certain things on the back burner even though I wasn’t in the best of shape myself the main reason I did so much in that span and still do now is because I knew that time is a finite resource & whatever I do is connected to that whatever person is involved or thing is happening & with that understanding about time making good decisions regardless of the outcome because no person is perfect. November 2, 2019 after a 18 month hiatus of being on the sidelines because of sepsis & recovery I went back to indoor football (soccer) & because I wanted to assimilate back into playing again and couldn’t play field I took the route of playing goalie which was daunting but whether you are starting or seasoned as a player it is tough somehow, & on my debut I was doing alright but it was like jumping in the deep end for the first time all over again because being gone so long & being in that position where you are the last line of defense & dependent on your team for success (reason why goalkeepers yell at defenders) in mid flail & doing things just to get by which was working some I had my teammate converse with me after welcoming me back & also letting me know not to just overthink but actually react like I did before with follow through & it is the same with time and being efficient in life because everything requires certain reactions, sometimes we have the luxury where we can think things over and act how we feel appropriate other times we don’t have that opportunity & requires split second thinking, but with efficiency in our time the end goal regardless is our conviction in our own choices & using the time we do have well.
Time & Others
It’s one thing to have a way of doing things independently and solo far as our own time but a whole other thing taking others into our space & using our time on others. At the bare minimum no matter who it is whether a friendship, relationship, family, collaborations, people we hold at high regard or even acquaintances the name of the game is to have an understanding for others so we can adapt & move with understanding & hopefully use the time we do have within reason however we do so & vice versa because it is a two way street of interactions in life. When it comes down to us as individuals & the resources we do have, our experiences, time usage, & biases it is all culminations of our entire lifetime & our choices to this point & that is where pros & cons come from overtime, some things we self-actualize ourselves if we are actually cognizant of the events happening to us and around us other times it happens from other people seeing things over time we can’t see but people have seen over time and under the right circumstances people will pass those tendencies & trends on so we can adjust & improve overall. When dealing with time which I said before is a finite resource, & others it comes down to our own choices, beliefs, morals, views, risk, etc. when deciding the time we want to invest in others & certain interactions we participate in, at the end of the day it’s an investment on our part and even more so a scientific experiment that is never-ending filled with consistent experimentation from experiences that we have whether good or bad in origin. Just like an experiment life is constantly changing because people are random, to begin with so variables are always changing, individuals are different all around some people go against best interest, others push hypocrisy because they do opposite of what they say, or like the song by the Foo Fighters “Bridge Burning” where people will cut connections without reason or because people have met their needs, sometimes we won’t know someone’s motivation, other times we know someone well enough because of time if we are actually focusing, that’s just life.
When it comes down to it whoever it may be from friends to family to even collaborators it’s a balance between blunt honesty & not pandering because there are things that are unsavory & don’t taste good but facing something & sugaring down things even though they feel uneasy at the time isn’t always the option. With time & interactions the dynamic is always changing whether we like it or not whether small or big in nature after things like this individuals decide how to proceed, we can be like the song by Halsey “Graveyard” where we are just going with the same motions because we are afraid of things changing basically making a b-line to our own demise as a result or bring that same energy not to be confused an eye for an eye or tic for tac but be consistent with how we’re using our time & treating others, not just being selective. When using our time on situations & interactions with others It takes communication to do so proficiently because there is a lot of ignorance, misinformation, & fear at times that’s why it’s
Important to learn & be learning about others & certain things constantly whether formally or informally, because everyone & everything is not the norm everyone has different morals, views, attributes, etc & are different from the next just like I mentioned in the article Just A Thought: Value some people and things are varied in how they are perceived some are quick like a firework with this massive explosion in the beginning but that’s is it, while others are sustained over time like a campfire it may not have this extravagant facade but if taken care of last way longer, and how individuals handle things from there is part of the time we have whether with ego (doing things with selfishness) or with soul (keeping others in mind with what we are doing). What sums up this entire idea in the song “Playinwitme” Kyle feat Kehlani, I line in the song says “Girl, why are you playin' wit' me?
I don't got the time for that
Might need me a refund,
I'ma need that time back” & it applies to everyone no matter how long you’ve known someone or something doesn’t mean it’s certain so every interaction should be treated differently because everything is not automatic & requires time we don’t get back.
Time & Adversity
When talking time, a measure of an individual or person isn’t the good times because those are easy to get through for most people but the measuring stick is the adverse and tough times that people go through throughout life, some things we face are independent, others we share with others but the common denominator is our interactions with others & our experiences to boot. It can leave us feeling like the song by Gnarles Barkley “Crazy” because adversity can leave us feeling some kind of way whether it is because of it being something that is in new territory or just from sheer vulnerability. At the end of the day when dealing with adversity it requires action & adjustment because no matter how much time we put into others, how many resources we have, or how aesthetics look like a person has told me no one is really equal, everyone fits certain situations & scenarios and as a result it makes people assess, not even being cynical, jealous, or petty but rather knowing people are constantly changing & just like I said in the article Just A Thought: Love as we assess everyone around us whether family, friends, or etc. we have to make decisions if we want to limit, cut off people, or change how we interact with others, some may say it messed up but at the end of the day how we interact with others after adversity comes down to the other people. When it comes to adversity it can make people feel like things are impossible but sometimes the uneasiness that happens test metal & the actions of people, one example of this is The Barkley which was created by Laz Cantrell which is an ultramarathon in Tennessee that test people who think they are up to snuff but it has this high level of in uncertainty, & one quote sticks out to me by him is “if you have no discomfort in your life how do you know when you feel good?” If we are constantly succeeding how will we ever learn or improve where we are lacking it may be an extreme example but it’s the same result of adversity.
Time & Experience
When talking about time lots of things take experience & the before mentioned time to work the way it should which can be daunting because something’s take patience to come to fruition which is a blessing & can be a deterrent to most especially people that aren’t willing to invest the effort & this is prevalent now because we live in a microwave society where lots of things are instantaneous, but what time like this is doing is testing people’s patience regardless of where they think they are because things have slowed down because of several factors out our control, because of the society we live in people are always looking for shortcuts of how to get to things faster but time is always a factor and there is no getting around metaphorical roadblocks in pursuit of something efficiently, now certain factors will force our hands sometimes that’s just the life we live and certain people and things will do that making us show what we are capable of through adversity however ii’s par for the course. Nowadays people like to play the What If? The game which basically where people ponder if certain things or scenarios did or didn’t happen where would they be now, this is fun to play most times, but for me, I tend to stay away from it for two reasons, one people start comparing their life to others and what they would do differently if we had a reset button & second because of the time we live in a time where people are attracted to things they see even if the facade or a front is not necessarily the progress over time. Frankly, there is no reset button to life but a culmination of experiences & interactions that make up our progress even if it can’t be seen over time. Because of hitches we start to favor the song “I Wish” by Skee Lo or relate to the song “Pressure” by Muse & wish things would change or be different because of certain factors but what we do after is the important thing, do we justify our actions because of the situation or adapt because of them?
Time & Action
Lastly when talking about time the final component is action when thinking over the past few years I could have been in my second year of being a certified educator, never had sepsis, & several other things but it didn’t go that way & sometimes having the understanding that everything is not going the way we wanted but it happened is a positive thing sometimes & having control over what we can do is even better sometimes, worse case scenario doesn’t happen all the time but knowing life can only improve over time is essential sometimes, what comes to mind is the song by Browstone “If You Love Me” and the lyric that sticks out the “action speaks louder than words” people tend to roll with what they see at face value & assume rather than trust the process and actually look at the things they have before them from time they have been around someone or something,
when it comes down to it life is all about trial & error & that instead of being worried about perfection or making the right choice at the right time the question we should be asking is Did I try? which is the biggest question for everyone, instead of worrying about making the right decision at the right time asking ourselves the previous question from an individual perspective and when it comes to others having a mentality that taking a chance putting in effort on others comes with a risk and chance of losing things in the process regardless of others involved because nothing is a sure thing, outside of family or people that helped raise us to a certain point, outside of friendships, collaborations, people we have at a high regard, etc. it takes a certain level of reaching out especially when we get older past high school especially when we constantly see people so reaching out is even more important because of this factor, & even after a certain amount of time and effort the question becomes especially after adversity “Is it reciprocal?” meaning does the relationships we dohave, are they selective for certain people or are they returned in someway, because it may be cynical like a previous question asked but makes sense because not every moment will not be sunshine and rainbows and probably unsavory or hard but adversity will test things sometimes & can come at times where we are at our lowest showing us who really has us. No matter the level of effort or area in our lives each comes with a certain level of rejection, if you run a business of your own you are open to it from consumers or potential customers, if you are a very charismatic person you face rejection from others more than usual, or if your a guy seeking a relationship in a traditional sense as an example you are open to some form of rejection when you are actually trying. One thing that encompasses this idea of rejection is a video by Abba and Preach, it may cover a certain factor of it but covers the idea well.
Excuse the language.
Overall when putting in effort even though we may not have things go a certain way it’s only preparation for things in the future, an example of this is Xavier Rhodes on NFL Film Session most players or people at a high level adjust from what they know & their experiences that’s why they are where they are.
The thing that comes to mind in this situation is the song “All The Stars” by Kendrick Lamar featuring SZA no matter how well or bad things are going others dictate some but the buck stops with us and over time our fortunes can change periodically.
The hardest part about this is adapting or changing so we can be efficient with our time getting away from what we know already & reminds me of the song “Die Hard” by Marc E. Bassy because sometimes in order to progress as people we sometimes have to give something’s we are comfortable with,
When it comes to action on our part people are looking for instant results when time isn’t that way & reminds me of of the song “Dark Skyscrapers” Big Sean by & the lyric that sticks out he says “I guess it took me 10 years to be an overnight success” even though we took a chance or risk, success comes with time.
The endgame
With time as the factor, it is very complicated sometimes but we know things for a certain time is relative to each person (when things are good everything goes fast & when bad things it slows dramatically), it’s like the song “Palace“ by Sam Smith that when we are out here investing love, care, action, & effort into others and things we have to find meaning in everything through the adversity & struggles and hope the investment was worth it, & know that life is the journey, not the goal. Time & action is like the song by Van Halen “Right Now”, we should be expedient when doing things sometimes not just using our words because time is also like the song by The Whispers “The Beat Goes On” because there are no guarantees & are always roadblocks & it’s next up sometimes, so all we can do sometimes is reliable, consistent, accountable,& patient with our time rather than hinder ourselves in the long run over certain things.
In the movie “Office Space” Peter Gibbons says something very remarkable
“Human beings were not meant to sit in little cubicles staring at computer screens all day, filling out useless forms and listening to eight different bosses drone on about mission statements.” He was in a terrible environment for his job & it’s the same with life it may seem hard at times but the time & investment we put in adds up over time, just like the song by Jess Glynne “Ain’t Got Far To Go” there’s no real end to life but we control what we can do with our time.
