IT is no news that we are in recession and this is not just a Nigerian thing but virtually every country in the world is going through one form of financial crisis or the other. We cannot run away from the harsh reality of the times and we cannot wish it away either. We have to live with it. Our approach to the times will determine how we will turn out. We need not be the worst for it but we can, with the right approach, attitude and action still come out well. We can work our way out and be recession-proof. There are some things we can do to help us and the most critical is how we spend our time.
Every human being is given an equal amount of time daily. The rich, the poor, the priviledged, the mighty, the small . . . everybody is made equal by time.
“All that really belongs to us is time; even he who has nothing else has that.” Baltasar Gracian
When we all wake up, we are all handed a box full of twenty four hours and what will determine what the day will turn out to be will be dependent on how we use our time.
“This is the beginning of a new day. God has given me this day to use as I will. I can waste it or use it for good. What I do today is important, because I am exchanging a day of my life for it. When tomorrow comes, this day will be gone forever, leaving in its place something that I have traded for it. I want it to be gain, not loss; good not evil; success not failure; in order that I shall not regret the price I paid for it.” Author Unknown
In recession one of the free things we still have is free but it must be hadled with care and wisdom. Time, even though is free, must be greatly valued and the right prize placed on it. Our time must be taken as precious and handled with utmost care. We are where we are today because of the way we have spent our time.
“It’s how we spend our time here and now, that really matters. If you are fed up with the way you have come to interact with time, change it.” Marcia Wieder
We must not waste time on trivial pursuits and in endeavours that will not add value to our lives. We must make maximal use of our time to move us forward in this recession.
“If you want to make good use of your time, you’ve got to know what’s most important and then give it all you’ve got.” Lee Iacocca
Time is about the only commodity that cannot be recycled. Once time is spent, it is gone so it has to be maximally utilized.
“Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you.” Carl Sandburg
Many people use time in different ways. Time can be wasted. When we use time for inconsequential insignificant things that have no bearing to our purpose in life, it is a waste. Time, also can be idled away by just loafing around and idling away without doing anything in particular. The proper way to use time is to do all that can be done to have it invested in ventures and pursuits that will yield great dividends. People tend to waste time is feeling despondent in hard times. They tend to be wary of engaging in any serious task for the fear of it not working.
Time, well invested will always yield dividends.
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BEING RECESSION-PROOF Part 2
Last time we began talking about the use of time in recession. We saw that we all have a box of twenty four hours handed to us every day and what will determine what the day will turn out to be will be dependent on how we use our time. We must be careful not to squander our time away especially in meaningless discussion on the effect of the recession. There is so much time wasted especially on the social media where people just puff out their frustations and anger which is simply a waste of time. We must not engage in fruitfless discourse that provides no benefit. Times like this we must be careful to guard our time jealously. Unnecessary display of anger is not a virtue. “Watches are so named as a reminder — if you don’t watch carefully what you do with your time; it will slip away from you.” Terri Guillemets
We must embrace time and love it by doing what is right with it.
“Time, the cradle of hope…. Wisdom walks before it, opportunity with it, and repentance behind it: he that has made it his friend will have little to fear from his enemies, but he that has made it his enemy will have little to hope from his friends.” Charles Caleb Colton
In recession we cannot change some things but we can make the best of it. We cannot change the shortage and scarcity but we can rise above it. We cannot change the slow rate of production but we can still survive. We must use this time to develop ourselves and equip ourselves to handle the times we have found ourselves. We must give time to go to school, learn online, get training and apply ourselves on what ought to be done to make our lives more useful. This is the time to work on our talents and skills. Talents are like seeds – they must be planted, nurtured and harvested and all this is the function of the discipline of the right application of time.
“…You can do something extraordinary, and something that a lot of people can’t do. And if you have the opportunity to work on your gifts, it seems like a crime not to. I mean, it’s just weakness to quit because something becomes too hard…” Morgan Matson
In times like this there are so many problems and people with answers will have an edge so we must use our time to become answers to specific questions in life. Life only pays us if we use what we have to solve problems. Treasure is the reward for using our time to help other people. When a man is said to have experience, ideally it simply means he has spent time to develop and work on his ability, skill and talent to the point that he is more proficient than a newly qualified person. Whether inborn or acquired, talents have to be worked on, polished and intelligently utilized through the wise application of time.
“Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work.” Stephen King
The basic treasure we get in life is money which in turn is used to acquire other treasures (houses, cars etc). We must spend quality time to in developing our talent to make it of great demand by people. This is the key to getting treasure from our talents.
We need to take a critical look at how we are utilizing our time and ensure we have the right attitude to be afloat in these hard times. “Your talent determines what you can do. Your motivation determines how much you are willing to do. Your attitude determines how well you do it.” Lou Holtz
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