You are free. You are freer than you may be allowing yourself to realise. You have all the time you need. You and I have 168 hours a week. It's one of the few matters in life that are utterly fair and equal.

The reason many of us don't feel free is that we've 'mortgaged' our time. We may have made some poor choices on how to spend our time. We've made commitments with our time that mean that it is no longer ours to spend as we choose. In this sense, this is like a mortgage – we've made a commitment to the future to spend time just like a mortgage is a commitment to pay money in the future. For example, when I promise a friend that I'll meet them next Monday for a cup of tea, I've committed in advance to spend that time. It is no longer 'free' time.

A proper job is like this too - a commitment of future time in return for money.

None of this is bad - it is just like it sometimes feels like we've sacrificed our freedom. And freedom is important to the human spirit.

Promises, commitments and appointments are all 'open loops' or 'unfinished business' that can create a sense of pressure until they are fulfilled (thereby closing the loop). They are like a sentence left unfinished...which we long to complete. We long to be free.

My suggestion today is to revisit some of your commitments. They may have seemed like a good idea at the time but times have changed. Now, it may be time to renegotiate how you have promised to give your time. Giving your time reluctantly or, even worse, when you've come to resent this, rarely leads to a good outcome. Your heart is not in it. And the heart is the powerhouse of motivation and results.

Sometimes it is simply better to be open, honest and assertive and see if you can change the deal! Just like a home loan, time can be remortgaged - commitments can be renegotiated. And sometimes, just sometimes, you can get a better interest rate!

A promise isn't broken if both parties agree to changing the promise.

I think it may well be time for you to take back control of some of your time and reinvest it as you choose.

Go on – have the time of your life!

Lex

A Moodscope member.