For my own peace of mind, I need to stop focusing on how quickly time is passing (or how it often appears that way). I’ve been doing this more and more over recent years, yet it was only recently that I noticed the negative impact this has on me.

It isn’t beneficial for one simple reason – it creates a negative mindset. I let it make me anxious. I let it concern me. I let it build into an issue that is more significant than it should be. All to a relatively minor degree, though it’s still negativity I can do without.

I’ve talked about this with quite a few people, and it is clearly common. Many of us say it at the drop of a hat. I used to notice it more at the end of a year, when I’d hear so many people say something along the lines of ‘Sheesh – another year over in the blink of an eye. Where does time go?’. But I now notice it more and more. People (myself included) say it when a season changes, or when an annual holiday (such as Easter) passes, or when it’s summer holiday time. Seems we don’t need much encouragement to state how quickly time is passing; how old we’re getting; how things aren’t like they used to be; and so on.

So, I’m now attempting to reframe this. Instead of lamenting how quickly time is passing, I’m using it as an opportunity to think about how life is going for me. Where I would usually say a year, or a few months, or a few weeks, have flown by, I now consider whether or not I’m focusing on what I truly want to do in life. For me, that means asking myself, within whatever period of time it relates to, the following questions about my life:

• Has it been truly enjoyable during that period?
• Has it thrown up any challenges or problems which I’ve dealt with or still need to address? If so, how best do I do that?
• What have I achieved?
  • Have I shed any fat and got fitter?
  • How much writing have I done?
  • How many opportunities to write have I found, particularly those which potentially pay?
  • How much reading have I done?
  • How many new albums (or new to me, at least) have I listened to?
  • Have I spent time with my wife and daughter, whether that’s time getting out and about, or simply catching up on a new TV show or films?

The list doesn’t necessarily contain huge goals. It addresses several things which are important to me. It reframes the situation and prompts me to question how I’m spending my time, rather than complaining about how quickly it is passing. It prompts me to think of the things which are good in my life, rather than introducing another sliver of negativity. Ultimately, it all comes back to something I’ve referenced many times here and which is perhaps the greatest fear in my life – the fear of being old and having a huge number of regrets about the things I haven’t done in life….

There’s way too much negativity which we’re unable to control in life these days. If you can change the narrative just a little, as described above, surely that’s worth trying?

As always, thanks for reading and take care.

Best wishes.

Mick