20 December 2013

Give the Gift of Time

The Holiday Season is truly upon us. Some people have completed their Christmas shopping, while the rest of us are envious of them. Especially as we spend our precious resource of time waiting in lines buying that 'perfect' gift.

And it is hard not to want to meet the expectations of that perfect gift when we are bombarded with heart-warming, well marketed, videos. Such as the WestJet video where they got their passengers their top wish-list item.

But couldn't that resource that we all have in common, time, be used more efficiently? We are going at frantic pace spending our time here and there, not really investing it anywhere. We should slow down and take our time and invest it around us during the holiday season.

Take time to go carolling.

Take time to visit an elderly individual in a care home.

Take time to volunteer at a soup kitchen or foodbank.

Take time to call family that live far away.

Take time to play with your children.

Take time to help organize and deliver a hamper.

Take time to notice the beautiful season.

Take time to enjoy the sounds of the season.

There is even a movement happening on social media where some parents are encouraging their relatives not to buy gifts for their children, but to take the time to take them to the zoo, a movie, or some sort of other outing.

Research has shown that when it comes to our relationships with our family, that it just isn't about quality time, it is also about quantity time. And not to mention that one of the factors that contributes to well-being is engagement, and being engaged typically leads to meaning. And what a good way that is to invest our time in.


As we take the time to invest our time, we will realize the many ways we can spend our time instead of just trading it in for money and then spending our time in long lines waiting to spend our time-earned money.