Make the Most of Every Minute

By dr. wayne w. dyer

Most people try to live their lives as a total picture, instead of living them one minute at a time. They worry and agonize and give up hope thinking about the future — they feel as if they just can’t cope. Yet, anybody can handle anything a moment at a time.

For instance, the easiest thing in the world to do is to quit smoking. Anybody can go for a minute without a cigarette. If I ask you, “Could you go for a half hour or even an hour without a cigarette, even if you want one?” you’d say “Sure, I can go an hour.” Well, that’s all you need. In fact, an hour is too long. You’ve got to break it down — a second is too short, but five minutes is a good start.

You might say, “I’m fooling myself, because in an hour I’m going to want one anyway.” No, you’re not fooling yourself. An hour from now you’ll be a person who’s completely different. You’ll be a person who’s gone for an hour without a cigarette. Right now, you’re a person who hasn’t gone for an hour without one. When that hour is up, you’ll have to decide whether you’ll go another hour. But don’t try to decide what you’ll do then. Live now.

Go this day and live one minute at a time. It’s easy to use the excuse that you’ll only want it — a cigarette, a candy bar, a drink — tomorrow anyway, so why not have it now. But it doesn’t let you be the best you can be.

Your mind is so capable and competent. It can make anything work for you. That’s the thing you’ve got to believe. Your mind is very, very powerful. It can send away pain, it can send away stress, it can send away depression. It can work for you in positive ways if you decide to believe it and want it — or it can be the tool of your destruction!

Unfortunately, most people use their minds in negative ways. They begin to tell themselves self-defeating things and then they stop trying. Why not break the cycle today?

Think about the habits you’d like to break but “can’t.” Next time you want to do “it,” tell yourself to wait for five or ten minutes. When you can go ten minutes, try 15 or 20. You’ll begin to feel better — mentally and physically — and that will give you the confidence to go for an hour or a day or a month without “it.” And if you give in, don’t give up. Start fresh with the very next moment.

Anybody can handle anything for a moment at a time. Start making the most of every minute you have, today.