I talk about time quite a lot. Not a surprise - in the end, time is the most important resource that we have. The goals that I have set this year, mainly business and investing, I hope, will lead me to take back and have more ownership of my time.
The time, however important, is only a mean, a tool, a resource, you name it. Having more time is only a stepping stone but it should not be the end goal. It is important to use the time for the right things - otherwise, it is useless.
What are “the right things” for me?
After spending quite some time thinking, almost meditating, I ended up with the following:
- doing what I love (hobby)
- seeing those I love to grow (family)
- and giving back to those who shared love with me (community)
- loving my body (health)
These, I think, should be the pillars of my existence. These are the things where I will invest my time when I have more of it.
Of course, it is fairly easy to say that I will start doing something when X happens (in this case, when I have more time). However, walking the walk means that I should take the steps that I can take now and at least start contributing to those goals.
Let’s talk about each of the above in more detail:
Hobby
In an ideal world, I would see myself having enough time in the day to fully immerse myself in learning something outside of any domain that makes me $. Last year, before the pandemic, I was into lindy-hop and was fascinated by the whole concept of challenging while socializing with others. It was fun and I would love to use the skill that I have left to go and dance with real people once the pandemic is over.
However, I feel like martial arts is a thing that I would love to try out next. I have always had it in the back of my mind and made on and off attempts to start learning. The last one was in November but it all ended after a week as new quarantine measures were introduced. One thing I know is that I was super hyped up and I cannot wait to get into it again.
What can I do now? Just start learning it. Sign up for the class and go. Even though I don’t have the whole day to spare on this - I still have my evenings or mornings.
Health
This closely ties to the above goal as based on the past trends it seems that any of the hobbies I might take in the future will involve some activity.
However, one thing to mention is, that health should not be sacrificed at any point when trying to achieve any of the above and below goals. Health is fuel to anything that we do and if we run out of it - it can become very hard to get where we want to get.
What can I do now? Stay active, close the rings.
Family
There are two types of the family I talk about here - the one that I have now (my mother, stepdad, brother, grandma, etc.) and my future family.
For the now family things are quite straightforward - I want to make sure they are well off and provide them with needed attention and means to live a healthy and fulfilling life.
For the future family - by the time I have it, I want to be in a position where not only can I provide financially but also give my wife and my kids undivided attention and love.
What can I do now? There are quite a few things:
- Spend time with my now-family and help them with their struggles. For example, growing up with my brother was (and still is) a learning opportunity to see how kids evolve and how to make sure they grow into good people.
- Study about child (or human in general) psychology and use the learnings to help my brother now and my kids later
- Stop waiting for the miracle and make an effort to start dating(pandemic does not help though 🤦♂️)
Community
The Community for me has always been my country and the neighborhood where I grew up. I think it is important to give back to the people and the environment that made you who you are.
What can I do now? Examples:
- Join a mentorship program and mentor students from Lithuania
- Join a Lithuanian youth association here in the UK
- Find charities and see how I can use my knowledge (tech) to help them help