What’s in a Moment of Time

Oftentimes in my day, I have short gaps of time. They are too long to do nothing but not long enough to engage in a project. For these time gaps, I must choose what I’ll do within them. Because it’s a short time gap anyway, I have just a moment to make a choice.

It may seem that a moment, or a few seconds, isn’t an exceptionally long time.

But, as Viktor Frankl, Austrian neurologist, psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor once stated, “Between stimulus and response there is a space; and in that space is our power to choose our response; and in our response lies our growth and freedom.” The space he refers to isn’t a day or a week; it’s not a month; the space he refers to is a moment ~ a moment to choose our response; and the results we get are in the choice we make in that moment.

So what’s in a moment?

In this moment, you can choose to ask yourself:

• Will these words and/or actions move me toward the results I desire?

• Will I be satisfied later with the choice I’m making now?

For example, “Will I kill this time scrolling social media or answer that email?” “Will I go have a snack when I’m really not hungry or schedule that meeting?”

There are small but meaningful choices we make throughout a day. And we make them in the “space between stimulus and response.” We make them in a moment.

We can all achieve more by choosing to take our moments to pause, think about what we’re doing; and make our choices with intention and purpose.

I am learning to take advantage of these small snippets of time in my day by doing something productive. But first I had to learn to utilize the moment in which I make a choice.

I had to slow down and take advantage of all a single moment had to offer.