When we have opportunity to focus on appreciating moment, time is elongated.

So how come we only seem to do this after realizing a major achievement? How come we treat such moments like prized rewards as if we only deserve it as a rare pat on back? Why not give this to ourselves more consistently? Why not practice it as a short break from whatever we are doing?

I'm talking about a form of gratitude I suppose. When we practice momentary, focused gratitude for details of our lives, time stretches.

If you were running 50mph straight toward a brick wall, you'd slow down before you got there, right? Well isn't our grave physiological equivalent of a brick wall? No matter how many impressive projects we complete, end result is same for each of us. So why are we in such a rush to get there?

The busier we are, faster time goes by.

I invite you to stretch time of your life by sprinkling in a few moments of focused gratitude wherever you can.

You won't regret it.

I once gave a client assignment of accepting all help that was offered to her in one day. She was a successful small business owner and she was not allowed to offer help to anyone else for 24 hours (unless of course there was an emergency or such). She spent day allowing others to open doors, make copies, and pick up dishes after meals.

Her job was simply to acknowledge help and express gratitude. This was a very difficult assignment for an independent person who was not used to recognizing all of help available to her in a given day! Through this exercise she learned that she was much more accustomed to being a ‘help provider' than a ‘help recipient.’ Try this yourself for one day. You will quickly realize how much you do or do not accept or ask for help from others in a typical day. It can be an eye opening experience!

Chances are somebody somewhere has moved through same challenge you are facing right now. Reach out, call a friend! I guarantee it will not only save you time, it will also help you achieve your success more effectively.

I invite you to consider asking for help as a chance to express your needs as well as an opportunity to brighten someone else's day by allowing them to contribute to you.

So, what do you need?