Priorities, the average person spends 3 hours per day watching TV and less than one hour per week in any kind of regular exercise either physically or spiritually. Mark Twain said that the person who does not read good books is no better off than the person who cannot read. We admire people who accomplish great feats of skill, but do we realize how much time and practice went into these accomplishments.
We are asked to help someone and we say “Sorry, I have no time.” We come to the end of the week and we wonder where all the minutes went. We look at our life and lament that we just do not have enough time to do what we need to get done. The rich, the successful, the extraordinary people have the same amount of time we have. Every one of us wakes up each day with a new bag of minutes. The clock resets at 12 AM and we all start fresh with 24 hours. The average person leads an average life and wastes an average amount of time. The successful person does not waste a minute because time is precious.
Relaxation is important to each of us and needs to be included in our days, but excessive relaxation is a form of sloth and waste. What did you learn from this week’s football game or the new TV series about sex and crime? How much do these shows help you in your marriage, job or life goals? Which is more really important for your life? Do you fill your life with meaningless activities or do you fill it with activities that will enrich your life and those around you? Do you aspire to be average or would you like to be above average in at least one area of your life? Are you willing to do what it will take to be above average? What are your priorities this week?
Aging Capriciously 
Sep 14, 2023 @ 17:23:04
Good reminder for self-check! Thank you for this.
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Sep 15, 2023 @ 11:19:21
My pleasure Lin. I have to apply it to myself on a daily basis. John
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Sep 14, 2023 @ 21:02:39
You are so right, John. I often wish for an extra 6 hours in my day and an extra hand. Well, in truth I would like two extra hands, but I don’t wish to seem greedy. And the thing I’ve discovered is that time goes faster, making it seem as if we have less of it the older we get. But you’re right … we can all be more efficient in a variety of ways. I don’t watch television at all, but I find I am easily distracted by other things and some days I simply cannot stay focused on the project or task at hand. Looking into your book now …
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Sep 15, 2023 @ 11:25:20
Jill, I think as we get older time becomes more important than money. It is the law of scarcity. We have a scarcity of money when we are young and an abundance of time. This to some extent switches as we get older. Not to say I have an abundance of money, but I figure I have enough to meet my needs until I meet whoever my maker might be, if such a being does exist. I think the aging process also plays a role here. We have more energy when we are young and energy may translate into time. I often think that money and time are like matter and energy. According to the first law of thermodynamics they never disappear but are simply transferred between each other.
“Energy is neither created nor destroyed, but is simply converted from one form to another.” So I think it is with time and money. Thanks for the comment. Hope your summer is going well. Only six more days. 🙂
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Sep 15, 2023 @ 21:46:27
Funny, John, but I’ve never thought of money as being more important than time, or than any number of other things. To a point, money is essential to life, but beyond the point where our needs are met, it really has no value in my book. I fully agree with you about the aging process and its effect on our energy levels. Maybe, then, it’s not that there are fewer hours in a day than there once were, but that everything takes us longer to do than it once did. My summer was good, but frankly I’m glad to see it winding down, cooler temps, less humidity, and for a while at least, lower electric bills! And yours?
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Sep 17, 2023 @ 07:48:22
Thanks Jill for taking the time to reply. I wonder if it takes growing old to get over an obsession with money. I know when I was younger I dreamed of making millions. Now I agree with you about “having enough.”
I think you are spot on about taking longer. I think we should all have energy meters as we age to let us know when to quit. I quit much sooner than I used to.
My summer has been challenging. I have never loved hot days and it seems more difficult to escape them. I am back on Arizona now and it is much hotter here than it was in Wisconsin but somehow it seems easier to cope with the heat here than it was there. Not sure why. Well, I look forward to cooler weather. Hope you have a great winter. John
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Sep 17, 2023 @ 23:04:53
I think our views on what is important DO change as we age. I mean, face it, at age 2 what was important was mom’s lap and cookies, but by the time we reached the ripe ol’ age of 15, our priorities had changed and the most important thing was friends, and especially … um … friends with benefits! I never had money on my priority list, never even thought about becoming a millionaire, but the things I did think important in my youth have been replaced with other priorities. Still, while our priorities may change, I don’t think our core values do … they may alter as we come to realize realities, but they remain our values.
I’m with you on that energy meter! I am forced, since my heart problems began two years ago, to quit much sooner and don’t even take on some of the things I once did. For example, until fall of 2021, I used to get up and walk 4 miles every morning, come home, shower, and get on with my day. Nowadays, by the time I get the kitties fed, coffee made, and flowers watered, I have to sit for at least a half hour just to catch my breath. Still, at least I CAN do those things, so I try not to complain.
Oooohhhh … Arizona is surely a hot spot, but the reason it’s easier to cope with, I believe, is the lower humidity. I was in Vegas for a convention one time and it was over 100°, but didn’t feel all that uncomfortable, for there was no humidity whatsoever. I think the same may be true of Arizona. Hang in, my friend … and I hope you do get some cooler weather soon! It’s been only in the 70s here for the past week, so I am happy!
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Sep 18, 2023 @ 09:47:11
Thanks Jill. You mention some good points. I always think I could say more on a subject when readers point out things like you have. However, I am already on my next blog so I keep moving on. I think I could be more meticulous but I have always been more of a gadfly. John
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Sep 15, 2023 @ 19:41:36
The older I get my priorities are finding out where the restrooms are in the buildings, I am in. I have noticed that technology today has influenced societal priorities. I see it in my grandchildren as they experience the sea of possibilities they face.
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Sep 17, 2023 @ 07:50:11
After one has prostate surgery, you never pass up a bathroom. Interesting thought about technology. A really good book on the subject was one I read about forty years ago. Jacques Ellul, the Technological Society. Very dense reading but very profound. You might enjoy it. John
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