Where has all the time gone

Time flies. Time is going fast. This is one of the common comments we hear or make. I tried some thinking on this and this is what I felt.

1. Our own awareness of time makes a difference on how we treat time.

When we are waiting for a train or flight which is delayed, time seems to be going very slowly. Even one hour wait looks like a long time. But during other times we feel time has gone by very fast.

2.  Growing responsibilities make a difference

Responsibilities only grow leaving us less time for things we have been doing. We feel rushed and feel we are having less time than we used to have.

Imagine you have a habit of collecting books. When you started you had 3 books in your collection. Since you liked those books you constantly browsed through them every week. As you get 10 books in your collection, your ability to browse through each book every week is gone. Does that mean you are having less time. No, it is only that due to increased collection your ability to divide time to each entity becomes less. The same applies to our responsibilities.

At work, when we started in our first job, we had few responsibilities and most probably felt we have plenty of time. Imagine during that time you got an opportunity to visit a library or have a leisurely lunch. As responsibilities become more you will start feeling the crunch. We will not be able to do things we have been doing earlier. You are having lunch when you are working or you are feeling guilty that you have not been catching up on reading latest magazines. 

At home also same thing happens. You feel you have plenty of time when you are not married. As you get married and start growing a family, your responsibilities increase and if you have been traveling a lot early in your personal life does not mean you will be able to do that every year also.

So what? 

If you are wondering why I am saying this, use this "understanding" to make some conscious decisions in your life.

When we say "time is going fast" we have a regret in our minds which makes us either feel guilty or unhappy that we are missing something.

By recognizing that life does not remain same every year because of growing responsibilities, give up the guilt. Take decisions to make it easy it for you. Start enjoying the new responsibilities and new roles. 

Next time some one says to you "time flies" most probably "more responsibilities" have been added to their life than they imagined. It is a good thing to grow and have more responsibilities in life. Make it easy for them to realize and look at in a positive way. 

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