Valuable Time

Once again; apologies for the lack of posts recently. Some of that is a motivation thing and as I have been quite frank about my inspiration and motivational flow, it should come as no great surprise that there is another great gap between posts. I have however successfully managed to come up with a whole host of ideas that should help to ensure that the posts are more frequent over the course of this academic year.

Having completed my first year at university (and thankfully passing – through some miracle) I went home for my first summer since beginning the course. This was a slightly strange and surreal experience, to go from the stresses and drama of exams to three months of essentially nothing but activities of my choice. Three months of nothing is actually quite a daunting prospect when you sit and think about it – especially for someone who gets bored easily! However, I was fortunate enough to have secured a summer work placement in addition to my job at the local supermarket. So, whilst many of my friends and peers settled in for a long summer of rest, recuperation and relaxation, I went out to work.

This of course started me thinking about the way in which we as individuals value our personal time. After all, we only get one life – yet huge sections of the population rate their satisfaction with their career or employer poorly. Why is it then, that we stand by and allow our time to be swallowed in exchange for (in some cases) comparatively poor wages? How has it become widely accepted that for some jobs minimum wage is acceptable (and who determines that that is the absolute lowest price that our time may be valued at?

In my usual fashion, I began to over-think the issue, it seems strange to me how we place such high value on the material things in life  - but then immediately fail to fully grasp the fact that we do indeed only get one life and that that fact alone ensures that our time is incredibly precious. Who are we to place such an arbitrary value on the hours we spend under the guise of being ‘productive’?

Considering the many thousands of occupations, paid and unpaid alike there are within our society, the concept of time having a specific value has become an integral underpin for the system in which we as a society operate. However the true value of our time is not something we consider – or at least not nearly enough. Is there a difference between the idea of valuable time, and the real world value of time? If so, should we be doing more unpaid work for our community, or working less in the name of enjoying our limited time? Then, there is also the inevitable question of whether changing the perception of time, and the way in which society at large and we as individuals grossly undervalue our own time, is actually possible. I would argue: not really, for the majority of the population with the exception of a fortunate minority. It is impossible for us to simply work less – never-mind stop working altogether. As such, would it be more appropriate to look at some ways in which we can improve the quality of the ‘free’ time that we have. How much of an impact would this have on our overall quality of life I wonder? How different would our world look if we altered the emphasis slightly?

Indeed just as the concept of ‘valuable time’ is interesting, so is that of its counterpart: ‘free time’. One clearly cannot exist without the other. However, in all its denominations, time we (usually) spend doing leisure activities, or with loved ones, pursuing hobbies or otherwise is branded free time, or spare time. The connotations of this are quite hard to escape once you start thinking about them. Particularly as the terms so obviously imply that we should each have a sense of gratitude for any excess of time between our wishes and our responsibilities. Gradually, it has become the case that work and other responsibilities closely entwined with conventional survival have become necessities; and free time has become marginalised. Whilst to an extent this is inevitable, when you honestly ask yourself how many hours you have spent continuing with tasks that are not strictly necessary at work in order to ‘look busy’ or to be seen to be being productive, or add up how many extra hours you put in at work to secure the next promotion that could have otherwise been spent. It becomes quite depressing quite quickly to be honest.

Perhaps it is about time we spent a while looking into the abyss and truly considering our priorities. Or maybe it is just time we plucked up the courage to ask for that raise?

More Soon,

Amber xx

Choice

Choice

Well, as some of you might know, my last post was on the subject of Adulthood, and what exactly it really means to ‘grow up’. As a result of these musings, recently I have been thinking an awful lot about the subject of choice.

We all make hundreds of decisions each day – often without really stopping to consider them. But each and every one of our decisions and the decisions of those around us impact us in some way – however small. Sometimes these changes impact upon us in positive ways, and at other times they turn right back around and bite you. But regardless of the consequences, choices need to be made.

When faced with the mundane choices that we make on a day-to-day basis, our brains have a tendency to enter ‘auto pilot’ and it easy to miss the little things that might just give us the opportunity to really make a particular day great. However, when faced with choices that impact on us long term, the vast majority of us will take a step back and think for a moment before we commit.

Personally, these big choices have had a significant impact upon me in the last few weeks (as house-hunting for my second year student accommodation has finally produced results) and as such, reflecting on the consequences (largely positive in this instance) of individual decisions has been at the forefront of my mind recently, and after a while I began to think about the motivations behind decisions – and just how conscious these motivations are.

Sometimes it isn’t necessary to think deeply about a choice – you just know instinctively on some level that a particular path is the right one for you. At other times however, I agonise over the options, debating the pros and cons of every possible avenue. You might think that it is only the important decisions that warrant such close examination – however, you would be wrong.

Unfortunately I am one of those people who at times appears to be incapable of making a spontaneous decision. Until recently this had not been a problem for me (or so I thought) until I started university and started the journey to becoming ‘independent’ – choices come flying at us at a significant rate, and sometimes there simply is not time to agonise over a decision.

As such, for me it has been an uphill struggle to work out a way of filtering these decisions and dividing them into manageable chunks – otherwise it just becomes completely overwhelming. That way, when the big decisions do come along, I am better placed to make them – with much less on my mind, and more room to focus on the things that matter.

Anyway, that is more than enough for now.

More soon.

Love Amber

xxx

Adulthood

Adulthood

Having recently completed my first term of university, I have been thinking (a dangerous pursuit at the best of times) about exactly what it means to be an “adult”. Whilst everyone has a different interaction with childhood and the difficult transition period of adolescence, do we all have a similar understanding of what it means to be an adult?

Whilst I had more freedom than some when I was growing up, I also had a relatively sheltered upbringing. So, moving away and getting my first taste of ‘independence’ in the real world, I am now beginning to fully appreciate just how difficult it actually is to be a proper grown-up. Balancing budgets, house-hunting and the treacheries that frequently accompany online grocery shopping are just a few of the minor road-bumps I have encountered in just a few short weeks. Adulthood clearly brings a host of extra obligations and responsibilities, not all of which are particularly exciting. However it has its perks – after all not being nagged for keeping an alternative sleeping pattern - that’s napping for those of you who don’t speak geek - is pretty amazing.

Whilst I am fortunate to have a place at university, and to be given the opportunity to continue my education at the same time as learning how to stand on my own two feet, I am conscious that not everyone has the same introduction to being an adult. Some have responsibilities thrust upon them, whilst others choose to shirk the responsibilities that accompany adulthood for as long as is absolutely possible. Everyone has a unique experience, and as such we all take different lessons and experiences and influences and in time they become deeply ingrained within our psyche.

Whilst experiencing the ups and downs of this new environment has taught me a great deal – about life – the good with the bad. Overall, navigating the shark-infested waters of adulthood is pretty difficult – who isn't going to need a little help along the way?

More Soon,

Love Amber xxx

Commitment

Commitment

I recently stumbled across a link to this blog – and realised how easily commitments in our lives can fall to the way-side if they are not nourished. Having noticed that it has been over a year since my last post, and with new year rapidly approaching, it felt appropriate to revive Life Imagined (as I have re-named this blog – although that may be a working title, as usual I am not sure yet).

Anyway, having recently embarked on a three year English Literature and Publishing degree, moved away from home and begun a new chapter in my life, I was inspired by the idea of commitments. What motivates us to make them, and keeps us motivated to keep them. Is it pride? Or is it something deeper than that? Commitment itself can be defined as: “the state or quality of being dedicated to a cause, activity, ect. “Frequently we see commitment as being associated with success and resilience, but when is it a good thing to be completely committed to a cause, belief or decision, and when does this commitment cross the line into becoming pig-headed and stubborn? It is a fine line to walk when you really consider what it means to be a committed individual.

Whilst yes, sometimes it is better to see a commitment through: it may equally be argued that sometimes walking away is the most appropriate path. However, it may become difficult to distinguish between the two, especially when other people are involved. The decisions we make on a day-to-day basis often have a significant impact on those around us, affecting them in ways we don’t see and can’t even begin to understand. As such, it is important when making any sort of commitment – whether it is something trivial or something lager, that you consider how your actions may impact others.

Recently, as an indecisive person at heart, I have had to make a series of huge commitments. Having embarked on a degree, chosen my modules and begun searching for a house, there is plenty going on to keep me occupied. These commitments may seem like something mundane or completely ordinary but it has really become obvious how the opinion of the minority may influence the majority. Whilst this occurs at an individual level within each of our daily lives, it pays to think about how this works in wider society.

I am sure there are plenty of sociologists or philosophers who will have far more interesting perspectives then me, I believe that if we all thought a little more about how our choices change the world we live in; the world as we know it, then the world might just be a nicer place.

Anyway – that is more than enough of my rambling for now.

More soon ( I hope )

Love Amber xxx

Negativity

Negativity

Once again, I feel I should make my apologies for it being such a long time since I last wrote anything, but I fear my moments of inspiration are few and far between. With a bit of luck, hopefully this post shouldn't be too long and rambling – despite me being somewhat rusty.

Firstly, I should start off by saying that a lot has changed in my life since the last time I posted, and as such, my perspective has also changed, for better or worse – but I will leave that for you to decide.  With many of my friends off exploring the wonders that university has to offer them, and many others out in the big bad world – facing exciting challenges that allow them to grow and learn from their mistakes, it seems only fair that I should do a bit of “self examination” so to speak. So I got to thinking – not for the first time about the fine balance between something being a positive experience, and something being a negative one.

In short: the conflict of interests between Optimism and Pessimism.

I have frequently been accused of being a pessimist (although, I like to think that I am more of a realist) but I do not consider this to be such a bad thing. As we all well know, optimism does not always come hand in hand with realism – and recently I have started thinking more and more about reality. It seems that nowadays increasing focus is being placed on academic performance (and as someone with profoundly average grades throughout school) and university applications looming, reality seems more at odds with optimism than ever. So it seems that the pressure mounts, and what should be a unique, and positive experience can become warped – almost becoming an unsurpassable nightmare.

Now, my inner optimist (who keeps getting me out of bed each morning) is screaming that, “it will all be okay – all you need to do is keep moving forward” but its voice is struggling to be heard above the rabble of everyday commitments that time just doesn't seem to want to cooperate with.  The pessimist in me is telling me that, “giving up isn't such a bad thing” whilst the realist tells me, “just do what you can with the time you have – it will be enough” but all these voices have got me thinking I’m going insane!

In today’s confusing times, it can be difficult to establish the right thing to do – and to walk that fine line between optimism and realism – however, we must all try. Despite the fact that this has been (yet another) rambling post, my point is: that we must all attempt to at least fight the desire to dwell on the negative aspects of a situation, and draw at least one lesson – or positive from a negative situation. Recently, I have witnessed several of my friends triumph over adversity and come out with lessons that they may teach others! Now, you might argue that this shouldn't come as a surprise to me (I did say I’m a pessimist remember) but it did. They taught me that the glass isn't always half full or half empty – but that it is what we make it.

Now, I think that is more than enough of my rambling for one post.

Hopefully it shouldn't be so long until my next post!

Love Amber

xxx

The Future: Looking Forward

The Future: Looking Forward

My last post, focussed on the events of our pasts; and the way in witch they act to define the people that we eventually become. Recently, I rediscovered a website that I stumbled across for the first time when I was sixteen:

http://www.futureme.org/

I received a letter a few weeks ago – from my sixteen year old self. The contents of which I’m not quite ready to share with the world yet (but who knows maybe some-day I will post it). The contents of this letter made me seriously re-evaluate my life, and make some significant changes. I feel slightly stupid saying it – after all, who knows you better than yourself?

Sometimes it is possible to anticipate the events of the future, and to prepare accordingly. However, life likes to throw surprises at us – and it is my belief that our past prepares us for the present, and the present prepares us for the future. So for me, the concept of actively being able to pass messages along for a different time in my life is fascinating. (For example, the last letter I wrote will be delivered shortly before I am due to start for university).

Combined with a further conversation with a close friend, it got me thinking about the messages that I would currently like to pass along to my future self. Reminders of the happy times, a life lesson learned? – Or perhaps a revisit to a not so happy time? Or simply a reminder that I have come through this far – and will (hopefully) continue to fight my way through everything that life has to throw at me.

When presented with the opportunity to pass messages along, into the future, it puts things into an entirely new perspective. And if you do only one thing solely for yourself this week – I challenge you to take some time and write to yourself. If you are anything like me, you will find it extremely useful putting things into perspective.

I found that by taking just half an hour to put (some of) my feelings down in writing, I was able to see what I wanted for myself in the future, Whilst the person I am right now is a product of my past, ultimately I can shape my own future. And so can you. With hard work, and self awareness, I think it’s possible to achieve whatever you want to achieve (as cliché as it is!).

Anyways, that’s enough of my ramblings for one night,

More Soon,

Love Amber

xxx

The Past: Looking Back

The Past: Looking Back

After a recent conversation with a close friend of mine, I have been inspired, in more ways than one. As you can see from the frequency of posts on this blog, inspiration is not something that has ever come particularly easy for me. But when it strikes I find it almost impossible not to act upon it. Although I may not write quite as eloquently as some of my peers, I still feel the need too at least attempt to express how much I appreciate the things that people have done for me over the years; and the impact that the people who are closest to me have had on the person who I have become.

Thankfully, I am one of the lucky ones. I have people surrounding me who support me, regardless of their own personal circumstances. Saying this, I truly hope that I have been able to return the favour to at least the majority of these special people, but I will never be sure of that fact - and it is certainly something that I am not willing to take for granted.  I can only hope that I am able to support them as much as they have supported – and continue to support me. 

Lately, I have been considering the events of my past, and reassessing the impact that my actions may have had on those who surround me. As everyone knows, with hindsight it is possible to see things much more clearly then we could at the time – for better, or for worse. Sometimes our actions have a positive impact – but this is not always the case, and whilst I try my hardest to have a positive impact, sometimes it is just not possible. Or, it’s just not in our best interests to try. The potential for miss-stepping, and making the wrong choices surrounds us in all we do; and it is all to easy to become trapped in unending circular arguments, particularly when attempting to make decisions that impact on our future. With every decision that we make we must consider all possible consequences for ourselves, simultaneously considering the way that our choices will alter the lives of those whom we are closest too.

Sometimes change is for the better: sometimes for the worse. And as with many things in life, we will never know until afterwards. This fact is part of what can make reflecting on the actions of our pasts so painful, or so perfect. Each of us has at least one, “perfect memory” - a moment from our past that when we think about it, it instantly fills us with a warm, happy sensation – for whatever reason. We all have moments that we look back on and cringe. But these are the moments that made us. Ultimately we are the sum total of our experience, and regardless of the hand that life deals us, we all cope in unique ways with our own individual situations.

In my (humble) opinion, that is one of the things that makes humanity beautiful. Despite the events of the past, we all have the ability to define our future. Too put negative events behind us – and too move on to bigger, better things. To make life better for ourselves, and those who surround us. The events of our past, and the support of our peers provide us with the strength and experience to handle whatever life throws at us. Eventually we will get to the places we want to be – with a little luck and a lot of effort.

More Soon,

Love Amber

xxx

PS: Apologies for the rambling post - it's been a while since I last wrote.