A few words on time

Once upon a time, I taught a course on budget and finance for nurses. In the first session, I would introduce the concept of scarcity and ask the class to provide real-world examples of the concept. Every year, the conversation immediately would become lively.

One example mentioned consistently was the “gas crisis” of the 1970s. Some in the class had no idea what was being talked about, but there were always a few students my age that recalled sitting in the back seat of their parents’ car, waiting hours for a few gallons of gasoline. When stories about entertainment devised to pass the time waned, I would burst the bubble of this walk down memory lane with the fact that the energy crisis of the 1970s was a man-made supply crisis and that, to this date, oil has flowed endlessly.

Usually, a student would then bring up the disappearance of the dinosaurs that “became the oil,” and I would acknowledge that, yes, such creatures are scarce—if you don’t include animals such as the alligator, caiman, crocodile, and komodo dragon. I would also acknowledge that, through genetic engineering, the possibility of a real-life Jurassic Park is not far beyond mankind’s reach.

Like sands through the hourglass ...

— Serggn/iStock/Thinkstock

Land was often cited as another example of scarcity. “Location, location, location” was a never-miss contribution. As I have watched the planet change over the years since teaching this course, my perception of location, location, location has altered a bit, supported by Steven Hawking’s recommendation that we find another planet to live on. Today, as then, my response to perceived issues of scarcity is that human ingenuity will overcome such problems.

Usually, about the time discussion closed on the topic of land scarcity, the class would become frustrated and press me for my definition of scarcity. I would agree with the concept, as defined in the textbook of the semester. However, as far as a real-world example that would impact me in my lifetime, I thought of nothing more proximal and more in my control—yet, at the same time, completely out of my control—than time. As they say, once it’s behind you, there’s no getting it back, and you have no idea how much is in front of you.

Now, one could make the case that the issue of time scarcity will also be solved through human innovation, that we’ll be able to extend life by hundreds of years through genetically designed replacement parts. But do you really want a 240-year-old me hanging around the joint? I think not. And where would we put all the other billions of 240-year-olds, not to mention those middle-aged 150-year-olds? A discussion for another day.

Given current realities, our time is scarce. There never seems to be enough of it, and when it’s gone, it really is gone. We give so much of our time to others through work and service, but often don’t take time for ourselves—a topic widely discussed in the nursing profession. Feminists such as Mika Brzezinski and Ariana Huffington make the case that, even in a world of glass ceilings and disparities in pay, one metric of success to strive for lies beyond the title, the corner office, and the package. It is control over one’s own time.

Although I agree with this position, I readily recognize that control over one’s time is not easily attainable. However, the emotional component of how I spend my time should be within my control, and could easily be the driver behind why so many of us have chosen to enter caring professions. But have we lost sight of the fact that control over the emotional component of our day-to-day lives is in our hands?

In our hometowns, we are bombarded constantly with images from around the globe of absolutely horrifying situations. As human beings, we rise to these crises and respond to the best of our ability. However, I doubt there is a person reading this blog who does not agree that the overall stress level of our world has increased.

So, given the world we live in, we can spend our time being fearful, frustrated, and stressed. Or, we can take control of the emotional component of the moment and make our workplace, and maybe someone else’s workplace, a better place—by turning a negative into a positive, a moment of frustration into one of growth, and a moment of anger into a teaching moment.

We have all heard it said, “If I had just one more hour to live, I wouldn’t want to spend it at work.” Given just one more hour, on what random act of kindness would you spend your time?

For Reflections on Nursing Leadership (RNL), published by the Honor Society of Nursing, Sigma Theta Tau International. Comments are moderated. Those that promote products or services will not be posted.