Owning Your Own Time
Time is like a house. It contains everything we own, houses the memories of those that pass through it, and must be maintained with great care and great intentionality to preserve or increase its value. Time is both a utility and an investment. To get the most out of time, you should own it for yourself rather than rent it from others. When it comes to time, it’s best to live in the house that you’ve built.
What does it mean to “rent” or “own” time? Time is an intangible property. We’ve all heard of the saying, “living on borrowed time.” It’s the idea of doing something longer than expected or postponing the inevitable. The “inevitable” could be the end of a personal or business relationship, the end of an agreed upon arrangement, or in the most extreme cases, the end of life itself. We regularly sell our time in the form of wages or buy the time of others when we pay for a service. Ownership of this intangible property means having full control over it and reaping the full benefit of time as an asset as opposed to renting—which is time wasted. Ownership means maintaining a relationship, business arrangement, or job only for as long as we are obligated or committed and not extending things longer than we originally planned. It means not letting yourself get lost in the everyday tasks with no end in sight. It means not losing sight of your original goals, not letting life merely pass you by.
Rented time means consuming time and getting no investment value out of it. The time you spent is gone forever, and you never see the result of the efforts that you put in. Spending your days doing tasks you find no meaning in, or that are counter to your best interests, is an example of living off rented time. Rented time may have short-term benefits like a paycheck, an award, or some other form of recognition, but ultimately, you can’t hold on to that time long term. You spend the money, the feeling of esteem fades, and you’re left wondering where all the time went.
Spending your time doing things you love, things you believe in, things that you have full autonomy and control over is owning your time. You make memories, you fall in love, you create something that is actually yours. Spend time with your children and watch them grow. Spend time laughing with friends and create something that can never be taken away. Spend time on your health and well-being and notice the changes in your mood, your focus, and your abilities. Time is a finite resource, and not everyone has it. To make the most of your time, truly own it. Do the things that make you happy, and don’t give your time to endeavors that don’t.
