There comes a point in life when you start — without any deliberate effort — seeing everything differently. Life, work, people. Everything. You quickly realise that time is no longer available in unlimited supply, as you believed in your youth. It is no longer limitless, and it becomes very important what you spend it on. You begin to judge whom and what you give it to. You often start removing things and people from your life that you no longer wish to spend your most precious resource on. This is not selfish — it is entirely natural thinking in middle age, and the only right way to think if a person strives for a fulfilled life and wishes to avoid the feeling of having wasted it.
Everything takes on a different colour. Everything is re-evaluated. Meetings at work that lead nowhere. Coffee with an acquaintance who opens up all their problems and expects your full attention becomes a burden. A sales call where the other person tries to keep you on the line as long as possible, even though you don't need what they're selling. Waiting in a motorway queue. Everything is suddenly recoloured and reassessed.
The fact is that we pay for everything in life — with money or with time. We have only a limited amount of both, and so the price is an important factor. Especially when it comes to time. So think carefully about how much you are paying, and to whom.
