Time!
Time! Who’s to say it’s not important? We all make use of it. Some try to buy it, some squander it, while others watch it go by. Time dictates how most of us live our lives. Sometimes we run after it as if we could ever catch up with it. It’s used as a measuring tool, to assess how well we’ve done in life. Our use of time can be likened to being engaged in studies that would culminate in an examination. It’s absolutely important.
The benefits we’ll reap from our use of time,in our latter days, depend on how we make use of it in earlier days.Benefits! Does time really come with benefits? Yes, you can use your time to acquire skills, wealth, health, healing, restoration and many other things.One saying goes, “Time is money!” Some might disagree however, since it can’t be bought, controlled, acquired or inherited.
The effect of time is inevitable. God created the sun and the moon and set them on the course that they are presently on. They will continue to determine the times and seasons on earth as God has ordained them to do so time is unchangeable. We cannot stop its course. Could time then be blamed for everything on earth? Since it is set and will run its course, can’t we safely say that nobody can determine anything on earth? Is it possible to have control where time is concerned?Isn’t it so that people have no options and are thus destined for whatever comes their way over time? Let us examine some cases to see.
One man, Sunny, was a personal driver to a bank executive. Sunny had a challenging upbringing. He started working as a driver by the time he was 20, as he had need to make ends meet, with no one to fend for him. After driving his boss to his destination on various occasions, he would recline in the car seat and fall asleep. He often complained to others about how his boss kept him waiting in the car for hours, whenever he drove him for one function or the other. He also complained that his salary was very low. Whenever people suggested that he seek higher education, he shrugged it off, telling them that he had no time for such. He seemed to want or expect things would become better for him in an instant.
Eric was the breadwinner in his home. Being the first child of his parents, he very quickly took up the responsibility of fending for his family. Having never had tertiary education, his opportunities for higher employment pay were smaller. He contributed towards payment for his siblings’ education through his job as a cleaner in the restaurant where he worked. During his free time, he would work on developing his skills in the area where he was gifted – singing. One day, at the restaurant, he got into a conversation with a customer who had picked an interest in him because of his dedication to his job. Eric mentioned his passion for singing and his dream of becoming a world-acclaimed musician in the future. The customer was so moved by Eric’s focus that he invited the young man for a proper meeting in his office. This led to Eric’s eventual breakout into the music industry, where he became a success.
Uwem was an intelligent boy. It didn’t take long for him to decide on what course of study to pursue. He eventually graduated with a distinction in computer science, from one of the most technologically-sound universities in the country. Uwem was what you could call a whiz kid. There was almost no gadget that he couldn’t repair. He got a good job with a multi-national company, as their IT officer, with a good salary, giving him a great career start,ahead of his peers. He however became complacent,thinking that with his knowledge, he could never become irrelevant. He spent most of his free time on social activities until he realised that the knowledge he had was fast becoming obsolete and his relevance in his office was reducing. After many years, he started to retrace his steps. Sadly, his employers eventually laid him off, deciding it was in their interest to hire a more adaptable young man, as Uwem had shown that he wasn’t as agile or reliable as he was originally. Now in his early forties, Uwem had to start competing for work with younger, more adaptable professionals. After several disappointments, he eventually settled for a job as a supermarket supervisor.
Nnamdi was an apprentice in a commodities trading business. He started learning the trade after completing his secondary school education. He was diligent and so before long he had mastered the trade. He knew the best markets to shop at, how to strike a good bargain understood seasonal demand and became excellent at bookkeeping. To crown it all, Nnamdi was excellent at customer service. He knew how to treat customers specially and they always enjoyed buying things from him. After his seven years learning the trade, he got his master’s blessing to set out on his own, which he wasted no time in doing. It didn’t take him time to break even in business. With his free time and little savings, Nnamdi had added further to himself through study. He was fond of reading and eventually enrolled for part-time studies and educated himself till he acquired an MBA. His business became international, as his clientele spanned individuals and businesses from various countries within and outside Africa.
What did the people in these stories have in common? Humble beginnings and the basic twenty-four hours that everyone else has daily! These people differed in how they used their time, however. Some invested their time early and wisely and eventually benefitted from it. Others used their time less-carefully and ended up regretting it. Many of us complain about the time available to us but the real problem is our management of the time that we all have. Rather than complain, we should determine to use our time wisely. When time is gone it can’t be retrieved. Opportunities may represent themselves but time lost isn’t retrievable. New opportunities come with a different time, not the old time. Using the present time to do important things frees us to use future times for other important things as they arise.
Some people think being wealthy helps with good use of time but that isn’t correct. Many wealthy people have poor time management skills. Some of them pursue the wrong things with their time. Some things are more important than others. Channelling time towards the least important and least urgent things is not wise. God, family and friends should rank above most of the things that many people chase after. It is where these are being fulfilled that pursuing other things would be worthwhile. It’s said that a fool starts out in many direction but a wise man focuses on one action.It’s important that in whatever worthwhile thing you’re occupied with, you pursue it with all you have, even if it isn’t what you were made to do. That way, you’d learn a lot about yourself and find what your real talents are. When you discover your talents and harness them, they become beneficial to you. Use each hour you have as if it was a few minutes, each minute you have, as if it was a few seconds and make good use of every second; make it count. The clock is ticking now.
Written
By
Ikenna I. Anyadike
Edited by
Chukwudifu Onianwa of ChuDifu Projects
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