Each day this modern world presents to us a constant immersion into limitless demands for our attention. It seems to require a neverending effort to remember from moment to moment that we remain the arbiters of our attention, even while it is necessarily focused on whatever we are attending to in the moment. We retain the choice of what to attend, in spite of how powerfully anything draws us in.
In whatever fashion they may come, and whether they be prolonged or momentary, occasional breaks from the intensity of the demands of life provide opportunities to exercise our choice and remind us that we have it.
In moments of unstructured time, our subconscious desires will guide our actions. It is no secret that when outward pressure to attend something specific is alleviated, most people revert to seeking short term pleasure. The automatic guidance system of human beings is toward feeling as good as they can right now. There is an alternative guidance system—that of feeling as good as you can all the time — but that requires the intentional exercise of reason.
Through reason, a person can exert the moment-to-moment effort required to remember the value of each moment. Our lives are composed of nothing but moments, and it is in each moment that we realize or miss the only chance we have to make the most of our lives.
While most people regard most moments as having little meaning, a rational outlook shows that every single moment is connected to the greatest possible meaning. In the default emotional outlook, the only thing that matters is how you feel right now. In the rational outlook, anything that matters—no matter how long it takes—is maximized through what you decide right now. The rational view suggests that every moment has the greatest value that will only be attained through using it in the best possible way.
Every moment is a choice from an ever-changing set of options. When you make present choices well, you gain power and wisdom to make future choices better. When you ignore the choices before you, they will be made for you in ways that will most assuredly make your life harder than it already is.
Most modern people are so busy that their lives seem like a neverending conveyor belt of factors beyond their control than a wellmanaged series of decisions. Life will keep feeling out of your control until you begin to take control. Your life will only become more manageable as you recognize and take responsibility for the things you can control.
Perhaps the most important time to take extra care in what you choose to attend is in the early morning. By waking up earlier, you create a buffer zone before the demands of life place you on a more rigid track for the duration of the day. The early morning, after some acclimation, is the time of day that provides the ideal resources to marshal for the greatest daily impact. Early in the morning, you will have the freshest mind and the greatest hope, and these combine to form the ideal setting for contemplating the deep things in life or making consistent contributions to some meaningful long-term project.
In the rational view, time is worth whatever you make of it. There is no such thing as free time, only wasted time.