Is an Hour a Day the Only Thing in Your Way?
I’ve always had a fascination with Chinese Proverbs. Actually, all proverbs – Irish, English, Spanish… I don’t care where the proverb came from as much as I care where it can take me. For someone as long winded as I am, the art of communicating what’s basically a life lesson within one sentence is mind-bogglingly delicious. Sometimes it’s fun to just sit with a proverb for a few minutes and let it sink in. The proverb can, on the surface, talk about ants, wolves, or housewives – but, if you dig a little deeper, you’ll see that it’s meaning is relevant to each and every one of us.
Even if we aren’t ants.
One of my favorite proverbs has been described as a “Chinese Proverb” in some places. However, most of the time it’s referred to as an English Proverb. Again, it’s origin really isn’t that important. What IS important is the fact that, within15 words, it sums up what hundreds of self help and self improvement books try to drive home.
There is but an hour a day between a good housewife and a bad one.
You can replace housewife with any occupation, vocation, hobby, or title you can think of. For me, personally, I see the beauty of this proverb as it relates to writing, building websites, and graphic art. The more time you spend doing something, the better you become. You can’t possibly expect to become proficient in an area you seldom visit.
The main lesson is, of course the fact that if you want to be good at what you do, you have to spend time with your craft. However, personally, I think the KEY lies within a three letter word…. d-a-y. You have to spend time with your craft or vocation daily if you expect to tap into your absolute best. Once a week or even twice a week simply will not yield the same results.
Is there any area of your life in which you’d like to improve? (Cooking, blogging, writing, fitness….) Dedicate an hour each day and prepare to amaze yourself.
It’s funny how the same people who claim they don’t have an hour a day to improve some aspect of their lives will waste 4 or 5 hours watching television, playing video games, doing mindless reading, “partying”, and any number of activities that are simply time wasters. (I know… I’ve been that person. And in recent history. Unfortunately.)
And yet just an hour or two a day can make a huge difference on what we get out of life.
Thanks for sharing this inspiring post!
Grady Pruitt´s last [type] ..How To Set Goals For Yourself
This is such helpful advice. It is amazing what even one hour will do! I have also learned the skills of multi-tasking, in a new way, like reading while my husband is driving. I try to learn every day, including reading, so this is a great way to get that task covered while giving my hubby a break from my incessant chatter! And, timing myself so that I can see where I may have lost time in other areas, instead of that hour, is helpful.
Deborah E´s last [type] ..4 Things My Grandpa Taught Me
I totally agree with you Joi ! It is important we dedicate our time each day to focus on our tasks. Most often I will be multitasking ; browsing news and social media sites while attempting to finish a work email that took forever to finish or even meeting a dateline work. I now set aside 90 minutes a day to focus on my things to do, and removing unnecessary disruptions – putting my phone on silence and forbid myself from browsing social websites during these times .
The extraordinary man´s last [type] ..Multitasking Makes More Work For You