Hounded By Time Scarcity?

Hi this is Eva of Wild Authentic Xplore, and today I wanted to address a concept that’s been on my mind a fair bit, and it’s time scarcity, the conviction that we lack the time we need for the things we need to do.

And I want to talk about this topic today because it presents a challenge to living an actively authentic life. Because if we view time as something that’s in short supply, and the time we do have as constantly slipping away, then it makes sense that we’d overperform to maximize the tiny bit that remains, before, of course, even that too disappears. Can you feel the fear, the desperation, the middle-of-the-night panic, the stuff that drives you to sneak-peek at emails during dinner, scan your phone while on the shortest of breaks, and mentally run through your to-do list while you could/should be sleeping?

Time scarcity is like a hungry wolf at the heels.

A state of fear as it relates to time fuels the frenetic pace in which we live. Because when we operate under time scarcity, the time we have will never be enough. So, we take whatever short cuts we can. We might scrimp on the attention and presence we offer others, cut corners, lower expectations, or most often run ourselves ragged in an effort to keep up. No wonder so many of us are overwhelmed and exhausted. But we’re not just overwhelmed and exhausted; over time we start becoming disoriented as well.

Let me talk about this for a minute, because this outcome is particularly toxic for those on the path of active authenticity, for anyone wanting to understand and express more of who they are to experience the abundance and wellbeing of an authentic life.

The disorientation that takes hold when we’re operating under time scarcity is a corrosive type of thing, sort of like rust. Its appearance is subtle at first. It may bubble, undetected, under the surface, but in time it takes hold, expands, and further erodes our connection to our internal compass. The internal compass that could be guiding us with clarity and confidence degrades as it’s neglected, as we channel the time we DO have to satisfying the demands of the day.

And as our connection to our internal compass—to what we sense, feel, and truly think—erodes, we become increasingly unsure of WHAT we sense, feel, and think, and thus what our authentic actions should be. And as we disconnect from ourselves, we begin to wonder what we’re even doing, or why, and if what we’re doing is what we could, or should, be doing. We forget who we are and what we really want, the purpose, the very reason we started driving ourselves in the first place.

Becoming disoriented is not some rare outcome that befalls only a select few of us. This outcome is where we’re all headed if we lose touch with our internal compass, when we are so driven to “keep up” that we neglect ourselves and the time we need to stay robustly connected to our truth.

But this outcome doesn’t have to be.

While you may currently be operating with time scarcity, you CAN put the brakes on the relentless pace it fuels and begin the process of reconnecting to yourself.

And while you may only tolerate short periods of slowing down at the start—just “tapping the brakes” if you will—even brief moments of pause can get the ball rolling. So, committing to moments of pause in your day is essential.

Maybe you start with a short pause. And when you see that your world doesn’t collapse when you slow things down AND as you come to recognize the benefits of spending this precious time on yourself, maybe you lengthen the time of your pause, or its frequency.

Staying connected to our truth requires some level of pause in our day. But how can we use these moments of pause to reconnect with ourselves, to strengthen our internal compass and restore its position and capacity as a reliable guide to an authentic, well-lived life? It’s an important question to answer because what you do during those moments matters. So, here are two suggestions for what to do in those moments of pause to really make them count.

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The first is to use your pause to drop into a more sensual experience of the moment. If you’ve only got a moment, ask yourself, what’s my felt experience right now, my sensory, emotional experience? Are your feet burning, are you dehydrated, is your breathing fast or slow, are you anxious, excited, hungry? WHAT’s going on with YOU in this moment? What’s your experience of things?

And if you’re at the point where you can tolerate a bit more time with yourself, can you actually plan moments of pause to heighten your sensual experience of things? Can you take a walk, and more, in a garden in bloom or in a pine-scented forest, or with your shoes off, or when the sun is shining and you can revel in its warmth? Or if you have time in the morning, can you elevate your morning routine: perhaps linger in the bath, add scented salts, or a new scrub, or listen to your favorite morning music? What heightens your sensual experience of your morning routine?

Not only will designing sensual moments of pause nourish you in the moment, learning to elevate your pause moments will contribute to your understanding of what delights you.

While enlivening the moment, this new information can also be woven into your day to elevate other mundane, routine moments where possible.

In our race to stay ahead of time scarcity we have sacrificed a more sensual relationship to what’s around us. We have opted for the functional over a slower, more pleasurable engagement with life. We have become blinded to the pleasures that exist for us and exist right now. In an irony of all ironies, we forego the pleasurable life we could be living right now for the promise of a pleasurable life in some distant future. An irony we miss because we are so intently focused on reaching our goals.

And this relates to the second thing I’d like to call out.

Operating with time scarcity narrows our vision. It prevents us from seeing beyond the blinders that keep us trained on our goals.

While it IS important to commit to where we're going when we’re trying to get somewhere—and apply sustained effort to do so—it’s no less important to periodically pause to assess our plan, and when necessary, adjust its trajectory based on our current circumstances. And when I say circumstances, I mean both external circumstances and internal ones too. In other words, ask yourself, are you racing toward goals that no longer reflect who you are now and your current situation? Taking the time you need to pause and reflect can keep you responsive to who you are as who you are grows and changes with time, as you take in new impressions, and as a richer understanding of who you are and what delights you unfolds.

Is there perhaps a more meaningful, richer, more connected, elegant and satisfying way forward toward the goals you have? Are the goals you have still reasonable ones? Who do you serve with your goals? Is it some idea of who you are and should be, or who you truly are? What adjustments will align your goals with who you are now, and the situation you are in currently?

Without pausing, without allowing a slower rhythm and the wider lens that a slower tempo affords, it becomes very difficult to see alternative ways forward.

Acquiescing to a harried life keeps us tied to a harried life because it denies us the space we need to perceive the alternative routes that could challenge and improve what we're doing.

If you find yourself laboring under the fear of time scarcity, it can take tremendous courage to pause, to allow yourself to move at a slower pace. Courage is required to step off the treadmill, to discover the possibilities of a more sensual, more relevant life, the life of an active authenticity, the life you could be living, and living right now. And because it requires courage, it’s okay to start as small as you need to. To accept a challenge equal to your current capacity. Start there. But by all means, start.