volume 3

Never doubt the power of time

Trying to control how time here on earth unfolds is a big project, but rarely do days go as planned.

Lisa-Marie, Ph.D.

Dec 1, 2019 • 4 min read

Hi Everyone,

Sometime over the summer, my eight year old nephew said to me "Auntie Lisa, never doubt the power of time." and I thought to myself "never doubt the wisdom of children."

Over the summer, I found myself frequently reflecting on his statement, "never doubt the power of time." I repeated it to myself slowly, then rapidly, and then broke it down word by word. It wasn't a complicated statement, yet for me, it was a gentle reminder that I've spent a lifetime doubting time.

I have a fraught relationship with time. Since I was a kid, I always felt anxious about time. There always has been an undercurrent of urgency that followed me around as I navigated through life. I'm almost always on time. I don't like being late. I don't like when people make me late. I read the last chapter of books. I read Wikipedia as I watch movies. I don't like the unexpected. Yet despite all evidence, I think I can control time.

Trying to control how my time here on earth unfolds has been one of my biggest projects. I've read many productivity, self-help, and personal growth books in search of the perfect formula that would help me control my time. My notebooks and scraps of paper are filled with to-do lists and musing on how I can strategize my life. I talk incessantly to my friends and family about goal setting and time management. Despite all this planning and organizing, rarely do my days go as planned.

I spent the majority of my life focused on the micro-details of each minute, hour, and day; that I forgot to zoom out and look at time on a macro-scale. I looked at time as a day by day concept and forgot to look at the compounding effect of all those days. The "power of time" is a long term concept. When I think back to who I was in 2009, I am in awe of how much I have changed. Ten years ago, I would never have gotten up on a stage and spoke in front of a crowd, especially unprepared. A couple of weeks ago, I got up in front of a crowd, unprepared and told a story. Ten years ago, I would never have shared my thoughts on the Internet under my name. Now, I write and sign off all my blog posts with my name. Entering a new decade, I'm viewing time more patiently because it is a process.

I started blogging in 2009 as a way to express my thoughts and since then, I have grown as a writer and a communicator. I never thought that blogging would open my eyes to the world of entrepreneurship and storytelling. Ironically, entrepreneurship and storytelling were not on my daily to do list. However, with time, blogging has become my avocation and revealed to me skills I never knew I had. As I enter 2020, I would like to continue talking about transformation and growth. I am currently in the process of migrating the blog to a new platform called Ghost. I am editing all the old blog posts, creating an editorial calendar, and working on the design of the website/newsletter. I am excited for what the new year and decade has to offer. When my nephew said "never doubt the power of time," I realized that time has been good to me and my relationship with it is shifting.

As with last year, I am sharing the complete list of content that helped me grow and transform my mindset in 2019.

Enjoy,

***Lisa-Marie

Complete List
Content I consumed in 2019

Books

Lead from the outside: How to build your future and make real change – Stacey Abrams

Ivy and Bean – Annie Barrows

The Jumbies – Tracey Baptiste

Zora and me – Victoria Bond

Pleasure activism: The politics of feeling good – adrienne maree brown

Working – Robert A. Caro

5 love languages: The secret to love that lasts – Gary Chapman

Eloquent rage: A Black feminist discovers her superpower – Brittney Cooper

Peace is every step: The path of mindfulness in everyday life – Thich Nhat Hanh