Money and time, part 2
For everyone not born filthy stinkin’ rich, which is just about everyone, we have to trade our time to do things so we live or we die (like earn money to pay for food, clothes, shelter, and on and on).
Let’s say we’re using time to make money, and this is a natural part of life. My point was if someone offered me more time or more money I’d take the time. Trent Hamm’s comment got me thinking about trading time and money and the parallel between trying to accumulate more time/money.
A lot of people look at earning more money as an important aspect of life. It is to a certain point, no doubt. Here’s what I ask you: what are you willing to pay for all this money? There’s a cost associated with everything in life, and even if you’re willing to pay the price there’s no guarantee you’ll reach your goal. The few who accumulate all that money get to reap the rewards of it.
What’s interesting about the people who have tons of money is they don’t spend it on the things most people want the money for, which is why they have so much money in the first place (check out “The Millionare Next Door”).
Time works the same way. If you do all the little things to gain more time you may or may not get to enjoy it. You can eat healthy, exercise, manage your time, buy and use things which will help you be more productive, and do lots of little things to increase the amount of time you have to live and the amount of time you have available. In the end you could die young of cancer, a fluke accident, or just drop dead from an ultra-rare condition. There are no guarantees.
Both are worth pursuing, even in spite things may not work out the way you hope.
Why do I say that? No one knows what will happen, and doing these things is a worthwhile way to live. I’m not banking on something amazing or horrible happening (which is why I linked to both blogs yesterday), I’m taking what I have and doing my best with the opportunity in front of me.
That seems to be what life is about, doing the best you can with what life deals you.
In 21st century life, we have a drawn a neat line between work-time and leisure-time. The underlying assumption is that work-time is a necessary evil that helps fund leisure-time. My own view has been that those two spheres should be merged, e.g. "Do what you love." I know this is not always feasible, and don't get me started on the employment and managerial practices common in 21st century america. But, the union of these spheres is a goal.
This way, the dichotomy between time and money becomes less meaningful. You want to work, if you receive more money - than alright, but thats only part of the equation. If you get more time, then awesome, you get more time to do what you love. Work, I believe (i know ironic considering its coming from me) is a fundamental and healthy part of human life. Its a daily exercise in problem-solving, self-improvement, contribution to society, and a socializing occasion.
I agree with doing rewarding work. At the same time I'm not sure that's what the initial comment that got me writing these posts was all about. It's the idea that having more money will solve so many problems. The reality is most people need to make enough money to live and build a cushion, no more. There are studies on this, I'm being too lazy to link to them right now.
Work is healthy. I'd go nuts if I had nothing to do, nothing to achieve.
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