Realize It Before It's Too Late

There are countless stimuli around us that we fail to notice, accept without pausing to think, and allow to persuade us. We must consider the demands these stimuli make of us, because as long as we do not reflect, we continue to give them what they want without question.

The demands of these stimuli may include money, power, fame, and many other desires, but today I wish to speak about the concept of “time.” Of course, many demands are made of us, but today’s subject is one that, once lost, offers no benefit to chasing after it or looking back. Time.

Every day, millions of stimuli we encounter first claim our attention and then our time. Billboards we see while waiting at a bus stop, television show promotions, posters, the design principles of apps on our phones, the internal systems of shopping malls, and countless other stimuli we encounter…

All of these are stimuli that strive daily to capture our attention multiple times, and one of their common traits is their claim on our time. Sometimes they do this so skillfully that we surrender our time to them without question, believing they ask for nothing in return. Yet “time” is not a trivial request. Often we fail to recognize its value until it is too late, and by then, our pleas to recover it are of no use.

Yes, we may have spent our time poorly and in the wrong ways until now. But we must not now become trapped in the past and lose our present time as well. Of course, we will look back, draw lessons, and learn from our experiences—but we will not waste today by dwelling only on yesterday.

It is time to awaken.

It is time to consciously decide what and whom we spend our time on.

No matter how persuasive external stimuli may be, it is time to refuse to set aside our will and to claim it for ourselves.

Let us spend our time on such meaningful things that we do not look back with regret, but remember them with fulfillment.