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Once again, another birthday arrives, and I realize how fast my life is passing by. Someone once explained to me the math of why it seems like the years get shorter and faster the older I get. Here's the scoop: Imagine that when you are one, you are a complete circle. This circle represents one year of your life. When you are two, cut the circle in half. Continue this process and when you are eight years old, one year becomes one eighth of your life, and so on.

When I reflect back on those long summer nights as a child, it seemed like those moments would last forever. Now that I'm 32, the weeks seem to fly by faster than those nights. As that wise person once explained, right now each year is but 1/32nd of my life. As you can see, as we get older, each year becomes a smaller percentage of the whole. Therefore, the years seem to get shorter.

Okay, so I get the math metaphor, but my wise mathematician friend never said anything about how hectic, crazy, diverse, demanding and crowded my days would be as I accelerate toward center. It has been said that every day is but an empty page upon which to be written. I just didn't know it would be written in my daily planner. If I sound a bit off balance, don't fret; I'm right on schedule, according to my itinerary, anyway. Seriously, though, I'm just having a little fun observing the ups and downs of this glorious go-around on the carousel of my life.

It's true I have a very busy life. However, truth be told, I would not have it any other way. I find that the more projects I take on, the more meaningful my efforts become even though time is ticking by at an accelerated pace. The metronome of my heart is beating strong and passionate for the things I believe in and value most.

I find it to be both essential as well as rewarding to create balance in both my personal and professional life. I deal with my time restraints in several different ways. Here are some examples:

In my life, I wear many different hats, as is the case with most successful people.

The trick is knowing which hat to wear at the appropriate time. Actually, it's more like, how many hats at once can I get away with wearing, if you get my drift.

When I was growing up, I was taught that "if you want something done right, you've got to do it yourself." Well, that may have worked for my dear old grandpa, but in today's world of professional women, single-tasking just doesn't cut it anymore. It's like this: I surround myself with the most competent and trustworthy people I can find. I then invest time and energy to understand their strengths and weaknesses.

Finally, I delegate to them a task with which they have passion and aptitude, and I get out of their way. In following this delegation perspective, I have now handed off many of "my hats" and lightened up my heavy load with result-driven peers. Now, when the tasks are complete, we all share in the successful process.

You have probably heard the old joke about the very busy person who wants to take a time management seminar, but of course, can't seem to find the time. We all have 168 hours to live in aweek. How we spend our time is, of course, vital. I highly value my martial arts and physical culture training. Even though I teach martial arts six days a week, teaching is not the same as training my craft. So each morning, I get up at 5 a.m. and start my day with a solo run anywhere from three-to-six miles (when not training for a marathon). I usually follow my run with performing my tai chi form and some standing/silent meditation. The time I make for me is both cathartic and invigorating. I also engage in an intense weightlifting routine three days per week. These activities have become the baseline training I do for essential fitness, both mental and physical.

With my basic fitness covered, I perform specific martial training, focusing on technique, application or theory. Our curriculum is varied and challenging. By focusing on a  specific line of movement, I can extract the true value of the movement without all the distractions.

I understand that people will view martial arts training as a way of becoming physically fit, which of course, is true. However, I am of the school of thought that an already physically fit person can devote her time to honing her martial craft as opposed to just getting in shape. In other words, cross-training, such as weightlifting and running, are essential to becoming a well-rounded and complete martial artist.

I can't-and won't-allow lack of time to act as an excuse for not following my goals and dreams. Just five percent of our weekly time allotment means over eight hours of martial arts training a week. After all, there is no success without sacrifice.

So, here I am with about a halfhour left of this fleeting summer night. Perhaps, I can slow down time and treat myself, as I engage in some sunset tai chi.