It Is Never Too Late If The Moment Is Good

It seems more and more accepted that time is built moment by moment, accumulating experiences that rock us and push us by circumstantial currents. The German professor of physics and scientist Georg Lichtenberg went so far as to say that nothing makes us age faster than the incessant thinking that we are getting old.

To think that it is too late for something is to give wings to the “never” and kill opportunities and winds of change in different areas of our lives. Think that it is not a question to value based on the time we have left in the day, in the week or in life. It is something that must be valued depending on the moment in which we find ourselves

The eternal pending things

At this point, we can always lament for lost time, sacrificed leisure, or abandoned hobby. All of this can generate some anxiety. An anxiety that leads us to ruminate on thoughts such as “I shouldn’t have left it”, “with what it cost me”, “when do I get the moment”. On the other hand,  unattainable proposals can make us feel disappointed with ourselves by not being able to achieve the goal set because it is outside of our current possibilities.

On the other hand, when it comes to making resolutions, they tend to revolve around the incorporation of new activities. It’s not a bad idea. However, it is just as true that we can look around us, at what we already do or have, and turn it around.

Work to improve it, broaden the vision about it and deepen it. Perhaps, by following this path – apparently more modest – we will obtain a richer learning than by pursuing objectives that are beyond our possibilities in the short term, however much they are more attractive in principle.

Reinventing a known “moment”

Reinterpreting some of the elements that occupy our day to day can contribute much more if we change the prism from where we look at it.

Many times growth is not as far as we think. In fact, simply by changing the perspective from which we look at many of the elements that occupy our daily lives – relationships, behaviors, objects, etc. – we can make great discoveries.

Countless abilities and skills can be enhanced if we change the focus. To exemplify this, I will draw on personal experience. During the Christmas period, in which I have had a greater amount of free time, I started a reinvention proposal. I focused on an activity that until then I did automatically: cooking. With this change of perspective on an activity that I did “without conscience” I realized that I could contribute to my life many more elements than a rich and varied diet.

The kitchen is an element that, although motivating for some, can be a nightmare for others. We usually reduce it to something that helps us to socialize, to obtain nutrients and to activate the taste. But after this, there are other possibilities that we have not explored, and that I was lucky to put into practice and improve.

Beyond the obvious

Behind every activity there are hidden qualities that can make us squeeze the moment. In my particular case with the kitchen, I discovered several of them:

• Creativity: something important in the kitchen is change: daring to imagine new dishes, cook them and try them. We find that advantage in this discipline. It is true that sometimes it is better to stick to a specific recipe -especially in baking-, but that is part of the process. He thinks that this does not end until he finds on the palate that he does not taste the dish. Thus, for example, we can develop our imagination when creating an arrangement of the elements or simply decorate what we have done.

• Discipline:  the other side of the coin. Accuracy and timing are important elements for many tasks, so that for the result to be good both elements have to be controlled. Learning to measure and work with instructions and ordered steps is a discipline that will prop up a “good seat” for our creativity.
• Patience: in this case, there are two ways. That of having patience with oneself and that of having patience with one’s own discipline. Respecting both our own learning times and the processes we undertake is an essential part of our success. In fact, it is easy that the rush and the desire to finish are two of the factors that negatively influence the final result. Also, think that cooking, like any leisure activity, it is good that it has a different rhythm than the one we carry to face our daily obligations.

• Memory:  we can pose it as a challenge. By trying to memorize recipes, proportions or ingredients we train and test our short and long term memory.
• Planning:  currently it is an essential element in our day to day. Knowing when, how and what to do at all times will help us focus our time on the activities in which we are no longer constantly mulling over our mental agenda. Thus, having a structured and flexible agenda will free up mental resources that we can allocate to improve our own experience of activity in which we are immersed.
• Tolerance for frustration:  failing. Train and keep failing. Thinking that we do not know or cannot is a demon that lurks at any time and in any circumstance. In this discipline you fail, start over and possibly fail again. It all depends on us adjusting our expectations, analyzing the failures and working to improve little by little.

I would not like to end without pointing out one more goal: disconnecting from our routine and in many cases anxious rhythm. Be focused on something that catches us, that makes us not think about something else. Whether we choose the path of reinventing ourselves in the kitchen, or if we choose the restoration of home furniture, the manual binding of widely used books on our shelves,… it is the same. Finding an activity with which we can change the rhythm is essential for our well-being.

Look around, search, slow down, reinvent, fail, learn and disconnect.