You see how much time you have only when you stop thinking you have none.
—Gustie Herrigel
Every parent feels short on time. You have work, your marriage, your relationship. You have your kids and basketball practice and lunches to pack and baths to give. You have all those important conversations to have, rules to set down, homework to check, and curfews to enforce. Plus, you have your own health and your own interests to service.
Who has the time? you have probably said to yourself. How can I get it all in? You have to stop with this idea that you are rushed, that it all needs to be squeezed in—because it’s the urgency and franticness that are actually speeding things up. That was Gustie Herrigel’s powerful insight.
You see, it’s your desire to “squeeze it all in” that’s filling your to-do list and making you miss opportunities. You won’t need to schedule as much quality time with your kids if you realize that it’s all quality time. You won’t need to go to the gym as much if you realize that running around the yard is exercise. You won’t need to do a whole lot of things when you realize they don’t really matter. And when you drop them, you’ll have more space and more freedom.