Does complaining about time serve you?
A teacher stops by your office one day …
The visit is unannounced. You have had no time to prepare.
The teacher says, “I’m so sorry. I know you are incredibly busy …”
How do you respond?
Most Play-It-Safe Principals would agree with the teacher.
“You’re right. I am incredibly busy …”
And that is their first mistake.
What comes after that doesn’t matter. It makes no difference if the principal accepts the impromptu meeting or not.
The first mistake was diminishing your power.
Huh?
Let me explain …
I don’t know a single principal who doesn’t work hard or isn’t what the world would consider “busy.”
It’s kinda part of the job, right? You are responsible for a lot of stuff. That is what you signed up for.
But how you relate to time is a choice.
(read that again).
You can choose the “traditional” way …
complaining about time …
playing the martyr … “Look how hard I am working …”
and so on …
The PROBLEM is this: If you choose to relate to time from a scarcity point-of-view.
Meaning, you are always talking about “not having enough time” …
What does that do to your mindset?
“Not enough” is never a good feeling.
It’s a constant battle, trying to attain the unattainable.
And if you find yourself thinking (and saying) throughout the day that you are …
“so busy”
“there’s never enough time”
“stressed out”
or whatever
you have already LOST because your words say so.
And you know that “words create worlds” right?
What you say is incredibly important.
The words you choose to speak each day influence everything.
Lao Tzu once said:
“Watch your thoughts; they become words.
Watch your words; they become actions.
Watch your actions; they become habits.
Watch your habits; they become character.
Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.”
So are you too busy and constantly stressed? Do you have a negative relationship with time (and want to change that)?
Using the wisdom of Lao Tzu, you can change your relationship with time today by changing how you talk and think about it.
So one day a teacher stops by your office.
The visit is unannounced. You have had no time to prepare.
The teacher says, “I’m so sorry. I know you are incredibly busy …”
How do you respond?
You stop that teacher in their tracks and say something to the effect.
“I am absolutely not very busy. If I were very busy, I would consider that a terrible way to live but I’m willing to make some time for us to have this conversation (or not willing) to make time for us to have this conversation.”
(credit for this response: Gay Hendricks, author of The Big Leap).
Are you up for a challenge?
Commit today to stop complaining about time.
Start monitoring everything you say regarding time.
Stop saying phrases like:
“I don’t have time for that right now”
“I wish I had time for that”
And if you don’t want to meet with the impromptu teacher you can say, “I’m not able to meet right now. I’m focused on a project that needs to be completed, but your concern is important to me. Please schedule a time later today with my assistant so I can give you my full attention.”
This kind of response shows you own your time and are responsible for it.
Ownership = Power.
And Ruckus Makers are POWERFUL
It’s not too late …
Today — DEC 5th — the Maximize Your Margin Challenge is kicking off.
Over 6-days, I’ll share mental models and concrete tactics you can use to create more space in your schedule.
