How Precious Is Your Time and Attention?

And are you treating them as such? For a long time, I resisted a cell phone, desiring to preserve the simplicity of my life for as long as possible. Until very recently, I resisted upgrading to a smart phone, and even now, I still have not enabled texting on my phone. While standing on the outside looking in, it saddened me to see people at the mercy of advancing technology. Now that I have joined the rest of the modern world and have become one of "them", I require more vigilance than ever to make sure I don't get lost in the endless streams of twitter and email. While it offers tremendous value and entertainment that I am slowly discovering, we're running the risk of having a more intimate relationship with our technological devises and information than with anything or anyone else in our life.

Everywhere I go, people are no longer watching where they are driving or walking. Instead, they have their heads down in their phones and blackberries, bumping into people or driving their cars off the road. Apparently, there's always something more important to them - or so they think - than where they are and what they are doing right now.

As a yoga teacher, I see students have a difficult time parting with their phones during class. I assumed students desired a temporary reprieve from their devices while carving out this time for their practice. Not necessarily so. At the end of the day, it's their practice, their life, their choice, and their reality that they have to live with. Unfortunately, it seems that people are not walking as far down that pathway back home to themselves, to a deeper and, ultimately, more meaningful connection than they will ever receive through their phones.

The further we travel from our center and away from our connection with our inherent wholeness, the more we lose sight of what is truly important and meaningful to ourselves and our lives. What is urgent, important, superfluous, irrelevant, enriching, distracting all fall into the same category. We're so preoccupied with putting out the fires that the lines become blurred between what is currently tugging at our attention and that which will actually change the course of our day and actually enhance our lives.

The input is available every waking and sleeping hour as we get bombarded by incoming messages, offers, images, sounds, tweets, texts, etc. After all, we get the phone call or the email or the text at our fingertips wherever we are, so why not address it, right? And, yet, if we desire to be the authors of our own lives, as I trust you do, then we require more discerning boundaries. No one else is going to do it for us.

So where do we draw the line in the name of our sovereignty? How can we plug into the modern world without checking out from ourselves? I offer a few ideas to hone that clarity muscle.

1. Remember what's important:

What is your definition of important? And what is most important to you right now in your life?

2. Next, notice where your precious time and attention is being spent. Is it a reflection of what you value and desire to create in your life?

3. Respond rather than react.

I know how busy you are. I feel it too. Every day. Nevertheless, we can all afford to take at least a single breath of pause as a way to interrupt the auto pilot syndrome which is all about living in reaction rather than by choice.

4. From this pause and more centered place, know why you're doing it. Are you using your devices and the constant stream of information they provide to learn, to empower yourself, uplift others, and enhance your life and your purpose? Or has it become your way to distract yourself from discomfort, to run away from the reality of your life, or to procrastinate from living your best life?

At the end of the day, spare yourself any judgment or guilt about what is right or wrong, good or bad, positive or negative. Just make sure that the choice to participate remains in your hands. And the more aware you are of your intentions and the more present you are to the moment, the more aligned your choice will be to that which you truly desire to create in your life.

For additional resources on finding fulfillment in a busy world and to claim your free gift "Pathways Back to Joyful Living" visit http://www.SalonaCarlisle.com

Salona is passionate about connecting women with their purpose and joy in life.  As a yoga teacher and professional life coach, she employs a variety of approaches to help women intentionally create an authentic life of their choosing - one in which they feel more inspired, make more empowering choices, and enjoy long-term fulfillment and peace. Her mission is to inspire women around the world to express their fullest potential while leading radiant, enriched lives.