We all wish we had more vacant space in our lives. If we only had an hour without any interruptions, time that isn’t filled with stuff, notifications and emails that are constantly clamoring for our attention. If only our wardrobes aren’t overflowing and we didn’t buy more things than we can use.
A couple of weeks back, citizens of Bangalore were up in arms when it came to light that over 6,000 trees were going to be axed to make way for an elevated flyover project. Sensing public anger, the Chief Minister called for a meeting where he assured the people that no hasty decision will be taken in this regard.
On one side of the divide are people crying out hoarse to save trees and on the other side are greedy developers who only care for how much money they will make if they get the contract for the project. To the developers, the good that the trees are doing is largely invisible. It may as well be a vacant lot as all they are able to see is what can come up in place of the trees.
This is creative visualization used in the wrong way.
We all wish we had more vacant space in our lives. If we only had an hour without any interruptions, time that isn’t filled with stuff, notifications and emails that are constantly clamoring for our attention. If only our wardrobes aren’t overflowing and we didn’t buy more things than we can use.
Apparently, we look at our phones over 200 times a day. And it’s mostly to scroll social media and reply to things that are of no importance. Imagine if we cut that time and put it into doing something of value like reading, picking a new skill or just having an uninterrupted conversation.
So much time gets wasted when priorities aren’t set and expectations not stated clearly. Imagine if we get better and setting goals and priorities and honoring timelines. We can save so much time and create more vacant space.
A lot of unhappiness and stress is caused by working in environments that don’t bring out the best in us. What if we put some effort in finding work that lights us up and working with people who bring out the best in us? Constantly watching your back and wading through toxic environments is a drain on time and energy. One of my favourite past times in one of the places I used to work was to constantly re-imagine how things could be better. It didn’t come to fruition but the re-imagining was fun.
The thing is, we have more vacant space in our lives than we realise.
They may currently seem full but they can be filled with something much better and enriching if we make better choices.
