Speaker 1: 0:06

Well, greetings and welcome, welcome to the sweet spot. It's Making Moves Monday, and I know you're ready to go. You're ready to make this week a very powerful week, and I'm going to help you, and how I'm going to help you. I'm going to help you because I'm going to talk to you about one thing that we all share in common and we don't pay enough attention to Time. Yeah, time. I'm Dr Derek Sweet and you're listening to the Sweet Spot. I'm a board certified psychiatrist. I specialize in high performance and sports psychiatry. And, my friends, today I'd like to talk to you about time.

Speaker 1: 0:46

I got the idea from my wife, darcelle, who told me you need to do something on time, and at first I wasn't sure what I could even say to anybody about time, because it seems so obvious. But yet, as I gave it some thought, I realized that time is this invisible thread that runs through every single moment of our lives, and it's kind of wild how much time is shaping us as human beings. Think about it. The past turns into the memories that we have and some of these memories we hold on to very tightly and some of these memories we're trying to forget. But that's time. And the future? Well, the future becomes these expectations that we have, dreams and plans and ideas and expectations that we have that we're running towards, or sometimes we kind of dread and don't want them to come, depending on our situation. And that, my friend is also time. And what about the present? Well, that's where all of our attention is really focused. Right, it's this idea that we're right here right now. But guess what, sometimes we're so busy we pay no attention to the present and it slips away while we're so busy living. So, yeah, I think it does make sense to talk about time, and not in some abstract kind of tick-tock kind of way, but in a real, personal way, so that we can benefit from it and get what we need out of this concept of time and really make our move on this.

Speaker 1: 2:37

Making Moves Monday. I don't know about you, but sometimes I'm always kind of waiting for the right moment to do something, like there's this invisible clock running in the background of my life and I'm either racing against this clock or I'm kind of stuck waiting for it to tell me when to move, when to make my move. But here's the thing when I give it some thought, time doesn't wait, it moves. The thing when I gave it some thought. Time doesn't wait, it moves, and the question is are we moving with it or just standing still? And this is Making Moves Monday. So we've got to move right. So look, you know, what's wild too, is that time and movement are inseparable, and movement are inseparable In some ways. If you think about it. Nothing moves without time.

Speaker 1: 3:34

In physics, time is what lets things happen. A runner crossing the finish line, it could be the sun rising or setting, it could be a heart beating, it could be the movement of a clock. All of that is happening in time and there's a way we measure time is with these things, how many heartbeats do I have, right? How many sunrises am I going to see? Okay, what time is it on the clock? All measurable.

Speaker 1: 3:57

And in our own lives, the way we think determines whether we make moves or we stay stuck in time. Are you stuck in a relationship or in a job or in a process and wondering how you're gonna get out? Are you ready to make a move and excited and already have your plan? All that is about time and time management. Psychologists, they talk about time perspective theory. So this theory is kind of cool because what it says, is this People who think they have endless time tend to procrastinate, tend to procrastinate.

Speaker 1: 4:46

But those who understand that time is limited, they have a tendency to move, they act. They don't wait for the perfect conditions. Even the Bible puts it kind of plain In Ephesians, that book of Ephesians. It says be very careful, then how you live, not as unwise, but wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the world will pull you in every direction if you let it. Let me repeat that Be careful. Be careful how you live, not as unwise, but live wisely, making the most of every opportunity, because the world will pull you in every direction if you let it. Now, that's just some ancient wisdom that makes sense right here, right now, because isn't that the truth?

Speaker 1: 5:39

There's always something pulling at you, pulling at us, pulling at us distractions, doubts, fears, anxieties, people, obligations, things that kind of put a voice in our head that says we have to do this right here, right now. Or sometimes we just say I can't handle this, I'll talk to you later. But let's be real, we put off a lot of things that we probably should be doing right now. That's just a human thing. So why do we do that? Why do we hesitate? Why do we ask ourselves silent questions like what if I fail? What if I'm not ready? What if I get this thing wrong? Does that sound kind of familiar? That's the fear, the doubt, the anxiety talking. That's the hesitation that we, as humans, naturally have. Remember the amygdala, the fear center of the brain that we talked about, right, that's the hesitation that we, as humans, naturally have. Remember the amygdala, the fear center of the brain that we talked about, right, that's that hesitation creeping in. But here's the reality check. The reality check is that time keeps moving, whether you're ready or not. And guess what? Action beats hesitation every single time. Remember, in our last podcast that we talked about last week done is better than perfect. So, yeah, this is the secret of today's Making Moves Monday podcast for you that action beats hesitation every single time.

Speaker 1: 7:31

We've got to figure out how to use time as a tool. Here's a practical strategy, right? How do we make this work for us? I'm going to give you three quick strategies. One it's called time blocking. This is from Cal Newport. Instead of saying I'll do it when I have time, flip it, give it time and give it an assignment. So you say I'll do it at this time and I'll schedule it like it matters. So give time an assignment, it's important, so I'm going to schedule it like it matters. So, rather than say I'll do it when I have some time, you actually give it a time and you give it an assignment and you schedule it.

Speaker 1: 8:19

Then there's another way you can look at this. You can use something called a five second rule. This is from Mel Robbins, right, feel yourself hesitating? Do you feel like you're kind of iffy? Count five, four, three, two, one and then do it. Remember, we talked about this a couple of weeks ago the five, four, three, two, one method. Anytime you feel hesitation, you just tell your brain 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, go. And it short-circuits the overthinking process of the brain. It short-circuits that prefrontal cortex, that CEO of the brain. It gets the anterior cingulate gyrus and the striatum moving and you say 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, go and just do it. You're going to break a lot of cycles and you're managing time. So then the third thing is just have this idea this is from James Clear.

Speaker 1: 9:08

It's action first, clarity second. Don't wait for clarity. It's a natural human tendency to want absolute clarity and absolute certainty. I'm very much this way Before you do something. But I got to tell you, waiting for certainty is a sure way to procrastinate, so certainty actually comes from doing. So you got to move first.

Speaker 1: 9:34

This is Making Moves Monday, so I want you to move first and figure it out as you're going. You get it. So you got to move first and then sort of figure out why you're moving. Action is the key. It's kind of like the athlete mindset they don't wait for the perfect shot. When the pressure is on, when the time is running down, they take it Because waiting too long. That's how the opportunity is going to pass you by, because, remember, time is not waiting. Opportunity is going to pass you by Because, remember, time is not waiting.

Speaker 1: 10:04

So let me ask you what's one move you've been putting off? Think about it. Is it a conversation? Is it a decision? A step towards something bigger? Perhaps and here's my challenge to you on Making Moves Monday Name that one thing you've been waiting on, give it a time deadline by today or this week or this month, and set your date for what you're going to do and what you're going to get it.

Speaker 1: 10:33

You'll be in charge and when you feel hesitation, you know what to do. Five, four, three, two, one. Do it, because your time, my friend, is now. Remember what Benjamin Franklin said you may delay, but time just won't, it will not delay. So that's your Making Moves Monday Talk on time. I hope it made sense to you and if this spoke to you, I'd love for you to share it with someone who needs to hear it. And I'll see you tomorrow for Take Action Tuesday, where we're going to talk more about time and decision making and how those things shape our destiny. Until then, my friend, you keep moving forward. Take action. Done is better than perfect. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, go, all right. I can see you on LinkedIn. I can see you on threads. I can see you on Instagram. I can also see you on YouTube. Take care.