‘If only I had more time’ is surely one of the most over-used expressions in 21st century society. It seems that people are often prevented from doing things they want to do because they don’t have time.

So imagine for a moment that it were you saying ‘if only I had more time’ to do what you want to do. How much time would you need? 5 days? 5 months? 5 years? And perhaps more importantly, what would you actually do with it?

If you sit down for a few minutes and break down how much time you really have and how you actually spend it, what do you notice? Do you actually have the time to do what you want to do and live the life you want to live? Are you managing your time well? Are you spending more time on things you don’t want to do than on things you do want to do?

If you really want to do what you want to do, then what is stopping you doing it? Are you really motivated to ‘find the time’? Do you want to find the time or do you just think you ‘should’? If you ‘want’ to, then you are actively making a choice. Your choice. If you think you ‘should’, then somebody or something else is making a choice for you. Which would you prefer to run your life?

Some people have jobs they don’t particularly like, places they don’t want to live in and relationships they don’t want to be in, however what if you could focus more on what you actually want as opposed to what you don’t want? What do you think you could achieve if you gave yourself permission to believe that what you want to achieve is really possible? And what about the other primary reason or dare I say, ‘excuse’ that people use to prevent them from doing things – money? Imagine for a moment that you had all the money you needed. How much money would you actually need? £500? £500k? £500m? And again, perhaps more importantly, what would you actually do with it?

If you sit down for a few minutes and focus on literally how much money you would need and/or want to live the life that you want to be living, what do you notice? Are you managing your money well? If you really want to earn/get more money, then what is stopping you? Or could it be perhaps that you don’t want to do what needs to be done to earn/get more money? That doesn’t make you a good person. It doesn’t make you a bad person. It makes you who you are. And that can only be a good thing, can’t it?

Maybe we can’t always get what we want. And maybe we can get it if we really want. Maybe it just depends if you’re a fan of the Rolling Stones or Jimmy Cliff. Either way, surely it is down to our real ‘selves’ to make the choice and decide how to live our lives. Do you believe in fate? Destiny? In someone else’s power to determine the outcome of your life? Or do you believe in your personal power to live the life that you want to and deserve to live? It may not be an easy journey. It may not be a pretty one. But it will be yours and you will have made it happen. And whatever life you have, that’s the best life to live, isn’t it?