Light of Many Lamps – Part 2

Light from Many Lamps

Arnold Bennett

Arnold Bennett brilliantly encapsulates the value of each and every 24-hour gift that we receive daily, and how it is up to us to determine what we spend our time on. Bennett beautifully reminds us that, “You wake up in the morning, and lo! Your purse is magically filled with twenty-four hours of unmanufactured tissue of the universe of your life! It is yours” (Watson, 1951: p.143). Bennett discovered that time is the most precious commodity on the planet, yet people spend it so cheaply as if they are immortal (Watson, 1951: p. 24). Upon his epiphany, he devoted himself to a rigid schedule of self-discipline to make every hour count; leaving no time to frivolous time-wasting activities that would interfere with his progress towards his goals (Watson, 1951: p.142).

I found this story to be particularly powerful because I fall into the category of people that complain that they “just can’t find the time” (Watson, 1951: p.145). Unfortunately, I tend to fritter away time without giving it much thought. This is especially true with the rise of social media and how these platforms have been designed to have a highly addictive component whereby it is difficult to tear our eyes from the screen. Admittedly, I fall victim to the never-ending scroll, the high interest/ low time commitment videos, and the massive amounts of shared pictures, statuses, and articles.

Social media is so addictive because it plays on our natural human instinct to seek social validation, affirming our existence (Lowery, 2013). It expands our possibilities of connecting, sharing our lives and self-distinctiveness within a social context. According to Lowery (2013), the reason that we use social media has more to do with the psychology than the platform itself. Social media feeds on our fear of missing out, stokes our ego, and our desire for social comparison (Lowery, 2013). Furthermore, a study from Harvard University discovered that self-disclosing information on social media activates the part of the brain that also lights up when individuals experience heightened pleasure such as engaging in sexual intercourse or taking a highly addictive substance such as cocaine (Brown, 2012).

Undoubtedly, we are facing the battle for our future and time is our weapon. We must fight against human nature and our intrinsic instinct to seek social validation. Wasting a day here, an hour there, does not initially feel as though it will cost us much. However, this unproductive habit will have an exponential effect over time, and ultimately we will not achieve the vision for our life. As stated by Aristotle, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act, but a habit” (Seale, n.d.). Ultimately, our success is the product of our habits. We become what we continuously do each day. Bennett reminds us that all we ever have is the present. I have been deeply inspired by this passage and have decided that I am going to challenge myself to take a social media cleanse for the next month to balance my time budget. I want to learn to spend my precious minutes wisely. The time we are given is truly a miracle that should be valued and cherished. As Kay Lyons said, “Yesterday is a cancelled check; tomorrow is promissory note; today is the only case you have – so spend it wisely” (Goodreads, n.d.). Our time is never early, never late, but always right on time.

Christina

References

Brown, L. (2012, May 11). New Harvard Study Shows Why Social Media Is So Addictive for Many. Retrieved on October 16, 2018, from https://marketing.wtwhmedia.com/new-harvard-study-shows-why-social-media-is-so-addictive-for-many/

Goodreads. (n.d.). Kay Lyons Quotes. Retrieved on October 16, 2018, from https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/197755-yesterday-is-a-cancelled-check-tomorrow-is-a-promissory-note

Lowery, T. (2013). Why Social Media is so Addictive (And Why Marketers should care). Retrieved from https://www.cmswire.com/cms/customer-experience/why-social-media-is-so-addictive-and-why-marketers-should-care-022276.php

Seale, Q. (n.d.). 113 Aristotle Quotes That Changed Western History Forever. Retrieved on October 16, 2018, on https://www.keepinspiring.me/aristotle-quotes/

Watson, L. E. (1951). Light from Many Lamps. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster.