I was in a class awhile ago when the teacher brought up a wonderful idea that I have since used almost daily. She prompted us to think of all the things we want to do but say, “I don’t have time for that right now.” Then we were asked to change our statement to, “It’s not my priority.” As soon as you change how you phrase the excuse, the whole perception of your choice changes.

We always have time for what is important for us, we shift what is less important and make time for our priorities.

So when we say “I don’t have time to go to the doctor/to cook healthy meals/to work out/to get more sleep/to walk the dog/to do my assignment/to get to yoga/to travel,” we are actually saying that those things are not our priorities. We choose other things to fill our time instead. Which is totally ok, but are the things you’re doing instead truly a bigger priority than what you’re holding off doing? Now when I catch myself saying, “I don’t have time to do that,” I pause and re-do the statement to “it’s not my priority to do that,” and suddenly see that a lot of the things I’m not doing are actually huge priorities in my life that I am not making room for.

One of these priorities for me is painting. I absolutely love to paint and it is a skill I have been developing with my Dad since I was 4 years old. Over the past year, I have completed only one canvas piece and let the other ideas sit there gathering dust. It has been put on the back burner for so long that I have lost inspiration as well as become a insecure of my talent. The longer I wait to pick up the paint brush, the harder it is to start again. Since this fresh perspective of realizing I do in fact have time to paint, I just need to make it a priority again, I have decided to devote 2 hours each week to my easel. I am so excited to have finally make time for what makes me happy.

I hope that each of you can shift your perspective with this statement so that you make time for what is truly important to your happiness.