There are lots of ways people approach life. There are the people that exude lots of care,  little care, and then of course those that don’t care very much at all. The amount of care we extend to the things we do is usually based on our personalities, environment and circumstance. Sometimes we get too busy and don’t have the luxury of expending the energy is takes to complete the task before us with excellence. We in turn settle for just the bare minimum to get the job done.  I mean, in terms of reality, time is our highest commodity. It is something we can neither buy nor sell, but rather something we only have the pleasure to spend.

So the question is, how do we distinguish the things we should devote the most time to? Is it okay to sacrifice quality in exchange for quantity? Herein lies the struggle we have all encountered at some point in our lives. As much as I wish there was a calculated equation that could give us the answer, I have yet to come across such a solution.

However, maybe it’s not what we should devote the most time to, but rather how we should approach the things we do have to do. I have learned that the greatest way to free up time is to do all that we do the very best we possibly can.  So many times, it’s the corners we cut that cost us the most time in the end.  It’s either you that find yourself redoing something you’ve already done, wasting time; or it’s that feeling of knowing you could have done better, wasting energy.  As far as I see it, if you commit to doing something, it should be something you fully intend to complete in the fullest regard for excellence. It’s not to say that we have to be perfect in all that we do, because I know sometimes life happens. If we try our best though, we can almost always be ensured good results. For it’s only when we begin to pursue excellence that quantity no longer is a question, because the quality we find is worth far more.

I’m sure if I asked you to think of someone you hated, it wouldn’t take long for a few names to pop in your head. Wait, did I just say “hate”? Yes, I already know some will deny the existence of such a strong emotion. We very well pretend sometimes like we don’t hate anyone, because of course the severity of such a statement can be looked down upon. So let me be a little more politically correct and say for some of you there are a few people I’m sure you could identify as people you “strongly dislike”. Regardless of what verbiage we use, we all know what I’m referring to.

Ultimately when it comes down to it, we are all different. Whether it’s our skin color, social status, job, or even our beliefs, we were each uniquely created. With so much diversity, come obvious opportunities for conflict to arise. It’s all in the routine of life; there are just some people we like and others not so much.

What I find so interesting though, is the “bond” that hate has the potential to create. No matter the severity of the hate we carry for another person, there is one thing I have found that can entice us to lay down the hard feelings. In the presence of a greater enemy, two that don’t get along are united by their common disgust of the person they hate more. All of a sudden all inhibitions go out the window and the focus of dislike is redirected entirely. Even though the alliance is virtually unwanted at the time, the bond it in turn creates can be great beyond measure.

What we fail so often to recognize is that we are engaged in a much greater war with a much greater enemy. Yet, we waste vast amounts of time and energy fighting with one another. If we could only comprehend that we are all fighting the same war, we could be united by the greater battle before us. It’s only then that we can make strides in defeating the greatest enemy we will ever face.