A Real Time Waster

I love quotes, the simpler the better. Attributed to President Eisenhower, this quote is short, simple and speaks a lot of truth. Eisenhower said, “Never waste a minute thinking about people you don't like."

Yet, many of us spend a lot of time thinking about people we don’t like. We think about what they must be thinking about us. We think about what we are going to say to them the next time they say something to us. We think about the last time we saw them and all the things they do that rub us the wrong way.

If you think about it, it really is time wasted. Chances are you won’t ever have the opportunity to use that witty comment you keep playing in your head. Of course, you can’t go back and redo the last argument or respond to the catty comment, so why keep thinking about it?

If you think about something with enough passion and feeling, you can recreate that experience. Seriously, if you think about something that upset you or infuriated you, you will find yourself getting upset or infuriated all over again. Your body will tense up. Your breath will get shorter and you will actually recreate the physiology of upset or anger. The mind is just that powerful! So use it for good.

If you must replay situations in your mind, think about the time you laughed until you cried with a friend or the feeling you had when your boss thanked you for a job well done or when your business finally started turning a profit.

Spending your time on people who enrich your life and experiences that enhance your life is never a waste of time.

Let people who don’t like you waste their time thinking about you. You’ve got better things to do.