“Not enough time” is not a thing

If you knew with certainty that there was plenty of time for everything you want to do, what would you create?

Most people go blank when I ask them this question.

Or they tell me it’s impossible to answer because their responsibilities—never mind desires!—exceed the number of hours in a day.

Across different ages, cultures, and professions, many of the people I work with in my coaching practice share a common limiting belief: “There’s not enough time.”

It stems from deep-seated cultural programming.

Parents stress about juggling everything. Teachers and bosses reward efficiency. Media encourages buying and doing more. Productivity gurus make time-saving cool. Society valorizes busyness.

If you grew up in a Western country, you’ve most likely internalized the “not enough time” belief on some level.

And yet, it’s not real.

“Not enough time” is a story.

Flip the time equation

Rewriting the “not enough time” story can be extremely liberating if you’ve spent a lifetime convinced of its truth.

When you buy into time scarcity, you’re living in reaction.

The hours…
The days…
The weeks…
The months…
The years…

They’re happening to you. You’re at their mercy. You build your life around what’s “doable” or “realistic” within certain time frames.

The alternative is living in creation—acknowledging time and asking how you can use it.

When you dissolve the illusion of time scarcity, it creates an opening for you to start using time instead of allowing it to use you.

Here’s an experiment you can run:

Every time you catch yourself saying or thinking “there’s not enough time,” replace it with this:

There’s plenty of time.

You don’t even have to believe it at first. You probably won’t—and that’s perfectly okay. The silliness and pattern-breaking of it all will jumpstart the right (creative) side of your brain.

The blank stare

There’s another reason why the “what would you create?” question can feel confronting:

You don’t know what you want.

Perpetual busyness and holding “not enough time” as truth allows you to avoid contemplating topics like desire, choice, and creation.

Who has time for THAT?!

If you’re someone who struggles to identify what you want, and you’ve been buying into the “not enough time” myth, try buying into a different myth.

“There’s plenty of time” is as much of a myth as “There’s not enough time.” The difference is, one is limiting and one is expansive.

We all get to choose the stories we tell ourselves. What would occur if you only told ones that served you?