"But I deserve some time off ...!"
by Che Garman
Everyone needs to schedule downtime in their day. It helps create balance in your life. However, if your down time stretches into hours, you may as well call it down and out time as far as your goals are concerned. And 2011 statistics would seem to indicate that this down and out time is the norm.
The average American spends 33 hours a week watching TV. They also spend roughly 8 hours a month on Facebook. Added together these two distractions alone equal 140 hours a month - or the equivalent of 17 full 8-hr work days each month! Unbelievable but true.
Repeated daily distractions quickly become habits. We justify these habits by saying that we 'deserve' time off. Be careful of this word deserve. By using it, we are telling our subconscious minds that habitual daily distractions are 'okay'. If you want to live the rest of your life exactly where you are now, then you have nothing to worry about. Just keep doing what you are doing, and you will go nowhere. Some people can live with this. But I assume that since you are visiting an affirmation website, you have at least a few life changes you want to achieve. If this is the case, you really need to take a closer look at all the distractions that have become regular habits in your life.
33 hours of television a week equals 4 3/4 hours every day. And people say they have no time to work on their goals?
Jim Rohn
You might rationalize this amount of TV-viewing time by saying that you are too tired after work to do anything else. That could very well be true. But you won't gain energy by sitting in front of a TV. The only thing that will give you more energy, is expending energy. The more you move, the more energy your body will have. The more you sit, the more tired you will get. That's how the body works.
You may also justify TV time as being social family time. But is it really? The only chance you get to properly socialize is during the commercials, and this is when most people actually do move... to grab a drink, a snack, check their Facebook accounts, or visit the bathroom. Not very social, I'm afraid.
The truth is, if you really want to achieve your goals, whatever those goals may be, turn off the TV! Then spend 15 minutes a day improving your energy levels through exercise, and spend the remaining 4 1/2 hours working on your dream!
