It’s easy to pretend that you’re not in control of your time with expressions like these:

• I don’t have time.
• I have to ____.
• I’m all booked up.
• My schedule is packed.
• I haven’t had a day off since ____.
• I’m always doing things for other people.
• My boss/spouse/kids need me to ____.
• I never have any time to myself.
• I have a lot of work to do.

How you spend your time is your choice. You can choose to obey other people’s expectations. You can choose to obligate yourself. You can pretend that you don’t have a choice, but of course you still do have a choice.

You choose to go to work or not. You choose to obey other people’s expectations or not. You choose to make promises or not. You choose to get married or have kids or not, and you choose how to manage expectations with your family and friends.

Your calendar items represent your choices. Calendars are full of blank and empty days by default. You consented to the contents of your calendar, and you can withdraw that consent whenever you want.

Sometimes it’s good to remind yourself that all of the obligations and expectations regarding how you spend your time were due to choices you’ve made. You’re free to make different choices whenever you want to change the course of your life. You can unmake any time-based decision you’ve made previously.

People can and do change their minds. When they don’t like how the days are streaming by, they unmake old decisions and make fresh ones. Why not you?

People quit jobs. They leave relationships. They move. They close businesses. They drop habits. They stop.

Then create the space to explore and experience life differently – new work, new relationships, new income streams, and more. And they tend to be happier for it. It’s hard to be happy when you think you don’t have control over your time.

You are in control of your time. See the truth of that. Each moment is yours to use however you choose.

Even when you think you’re not in control, someone else in a similar situation woke up and realized that it was all a choice, so they reclaimed control and made different choices. You’re capable of doing the same whenever you want.

Even when you let someone else choose for you, it’s still your choice to be obedient.

Stop acting like you need to get free in order to make different choices. You’re free to make different choices right now; you won’t become any freer till you see that.