The conceptual metaphor time is money in English

¶ … Money

Metaphor is a poetic imagination and rhetorical fanfare tool used by individuals showing off their linguistic prowess. Though the use of metaphors governs individuals' thoughts, everyday functioning, down to the most mundane details, people do not value the importance of metaphors always ignoring their significance in the society and linguistic communication. To give some idea of what it could mean for a concept to be metaphorical and for such a concept to structure an everyday activity, this document looks at the concept Time and the conceptual metaphor Time is Money. This conceptual metaphor has a deeper meaning but is always ignored by everybody; I am a living example of the misconception of this metaphor.

Reflection

Time is Money is one of the more obvious conceptual metaphors in English because it is also a phrase used often. It seems to be endemic in the capitalist world, where you are actually paid for the time that you work. Common linguistic expressions reflect this metaphor and demonstrate the use of the metaphor not only in the way we speak about Time but the way we often unknowingly conceptualize it:

Despite being an old and common quote, I was not aware of the meaning and relevance of Time is Money to daily living. In my childhood till youth I had no time for anything; I had no value for time due to the poor upbringing that was characterized mostly by TV viewing and playing computer games. I perceived time as beneficial only to multinational companies and business owners who spent most of their time taking orders, serving clients and maintaining business inventories.

While there are always drawbacks to being too conscious of time, it is essential that one keeps time whether at work or while playing. As a high school student, I spent most of my time engaging in idle talk during class times devoid of academic seriousness. Working hard seemed like a distant dream during my school years. I perceived learning as time wasted reading theories that made little impacts to an individual's well-being.

My childhood was characterized with watching television and playing computer games. It was hard to avoid television given that it was always left on. Besides, my parents bought video games that were aimed at "making me smart" The bad effects related to watching television and time wasting had an impact were not exposed to me until I was enrolled in a college.

I never had extracurricular activities or interactions with other children and students such as playing childhood games. The time I had in my world during school holidays and weekends was for watching TV, which I came to realise, did me more badly than good; this time I wasted could have helped me develop life skills like creativity and social skills; but hey I never cared of anything at this times, time was not a factor that crossed my mind required proper management.

With television watching and computer games at home, my reading skills at pre-school were below average, thanks to the many hours spent watching cartoons and entertainment. Additionally, I never had time for reading books and other print media as was required by the school administration. I had no time for homework due to my busy TV watching schedule; a factor that led to poor results and punishments from class teachers on a daily basis.

In addition, most of the time spent on watching TV and playing computer games exposed me to negative behaviours. Whenever a classmate insulted me I always resolved to violence; since this is what computer games and TV taught me, that violence is the way to resolve conflict; TV heroes beat up bad guys to subdue them.

What used to happen at the end of each semester was no surprise to my classmates as well as teachers. I was not able to clear my semesters due to wastage of time during my study times. It hit me recently when I came to value time that time never waits for anyone and it is an individual's duty to manage it. Failure to manage time properly results in work related problems, and study difficulties among others.

The other factor that made me undervalue school time was a theory that time spent in school was money down the drain for creative students. This theory ballooned by big ego since I was talented in playing basketball and had a soft spot for business activities; I had completely ignored school times. The time I spent going to school was compounding time lost forever. I came to realize that school was not the best choice for me; teachers teaching to the best and the brightest a set of skills that are suitable for leisure-seeking wage-earners. The school did not teach business skills since the educational system screens in terms of bureaucracy: taking exams. This is why most of the investment in formal education is wasted on people who have business skills.

Conclusion

I know value time more than anything since I realized the importance of time to an individual. I spend a lot of time daily shaping my life better by engaging in creative and useful activities. Thinking, planning, finding out how others manage their time, and reading books and articles on time management, will develop these skills and give you good ideas. Time is important and without proper management, an individual cannot achieve much in this life.