Pelman Day TWO: Time and Dedication

Organize Your Time

You know how much free time you have and everyone knows how much time we all have. One of the problems people have when they want to change their lives is that they procrastinate. “I don’t have the time,” they moan.

Other people have too much time and keep putting things off because, after all, there is always tomorrow. And lots of time to make the necessary changes. But it is a fact that distractions expand to fit the time available.

Making Time

Yesterday we suggested that you find five minutes. If you had trouble with finding that tiny amount of time, try this: Draw up a weekly plan and use that to make the time. Here’s an example.

EVENING TIME TABLE

Perhaps some of this time is already taken up with work, school, or family commitments. Mark in those commitments. This gives you a long view of where you might fit in the time.

One of the major time-suckers we suffer in this day and age is watching television reruns and an even bigger one is checking your email or Facebook account constantly.  Use the above table to see if you can find serious wastes of time – hey, you can even skip a phone call and find five minutes there.

Causes of Mental Inefficiency

Day One we mentioned mental inefficiency. Finding and keeping time set aside for your own personal improvement is the first step toward overcoming mental inefficiency.

We’re going to be harsh right here. Whatever your excuse is for being where you are at the moment – too busy to spare five minutes for yourself or too unmotivated for finding the time – know this: whatever in your history is that led you to where you are now, the success of your future is largely in your own hands.

Sure it is beneficial to be born with money, have good health, and have lots of education. Or is can be beneficial. But remember that confidence is a major factor in success so don’t waste time fretting about your lack of money, health, or education.

You are you. Believe in yourself and your ability to overcome mind-wandering, defective memory, moodiness and lack of interest. Some of this is learned behavior. We pick up bad habits in school as we suffer from wrong teaching methods, wrong ideals of education, haste to attain results, and bad policy that atrophies our reasoning powers. Too often we cannot see the relation between cause and effect.  Our creative powers are stifled before they are able to reach maturity.

Subsidiary Causes

Lack of discipline between the years of 14 and 25 often gives rise to mental inefficiency. Whatever advantage school routine has offered, in the way of attention to prescribed lessons at certain hours, is frequently lost. For instance, we read for fun rather than to learn something. By the time we’re 25, we find ourselves unable to concentrate because we have lost the mental discipline necessary to focus and concentrate.

REMEMBER

1. Don’t look at difficulties as something you cannot overcome. Be hopeful.

2. Don’t rage against your memory; that just makes it worse.

3. Don’t say, “I can’t concentrate.” If you do, you will be less able to concentrate.

4. Be patient. There is no magic in Pelmanism, but if you will stick to it the results will be so surprising it will take on the appearance of magic.

5. Begin to exercise your willpower now. Resolve to master this lesson in spite of every difficulty.

6. Psychosynthesis  means the training of the whole mind. So begin immediately to follow out our instructions in this, and every other lesson.