You’ve heard the expression “time is relative” as spoken by Albert Einstein. But what does that mean? Well, it’s like saying the amount of time you have to do something seems like a lot or a little depending on what’s going on.

Take thirty seconds, for instance. that doesn’t seem very long, however, a lot can happen in thirty seconds: You can have a thought, act upon an intuition, say “please,” or “thank you,” even “will you marry me?”

All could lead to life-changing situations.

Now think about all the things you want to do, but often say, “I don’t have time.” Really? Think about it. What is time but a measurement of how we spend our moments in life. Some are pleasant, some are not. But we all have the same amount of seconds in a minute and minutes in an hour. It’s one measurement in which all people really ARE equal.

So, how do you spend your time? Do you use time to think? Perhaps, you spend time resting, playing, working, or simply enjoying life. All are worthy pursuits.

The trick to using time in a meaningful way is to realize you can do a lot with even thirty seconds of it. Just don’t waste it, because that’s one thing you can’t get back. When time is gone, it’s over and can’t be recovered. That’s the time you can never get back. Why not fill those seconds with doing something enjoyable or filled it with something memorable?

One last thought: Want to know how long thirty seconds feels? Try catching your finger in a door that won’t reopen. Then thirty seconds will seem like an eternity. I know because it happened to me.