海角大神

A few days ago, I overheard an interesting scene between a father and a son. As I walked down the block, I saw the boy (about fourteen years old or so) in front of the house, doing some finishing work on a skateboard. He was sandpapering it vigorously as I approached and kept touching the finish. It looked really good, and I was impressed.

Just as I neared the house, I saw an older man (who I鈥檇 assume was the boy鈥檚 father or stepfather) come out of the house and yell at the boy, 鈥淎re you still wasting time on that stupid skateboard?鈥� The boy seemed to ignore him, but the man walked over and kicked the skateboard as I was walking past and continued to yell at the boy for wasting his time with skateboards. I tried not to stare and just listened as I walked away from them.

Given the type of craftsmanship I saw on that skateboard, I would have strongly encouraged my son to keep it up rather than berating him for 鈥渨asting his time.鈥� From there, I began to wonder what exactly a waste of time 鈥� or a waste of money 鈥� really is.

What Is a Waste of Time (or Money)?
One of my favorite hobbies is playing board games. Roughly every other weekend, my wife and I invite several friends over around noon and we play board games (and card games) well into the night. Not only is it a great social encounter for us, we find the games themselves very compelling and often play games against each other in the evenings.

Some people might say, 鈥淲ell, that鈥檚 a waste of time.鈥� When I hear that, I simply recognize that the person is saying that an afternoon of playing games with friends is not something that they value. Because, in the end, that鈥檚 all a 鈥渨aste of time鈥� is: time spent doing something that you don鈥檛 really value. The same is true of money.

What 滨蝉苍鈥檛 a Waste of Time (or Money)?
On the flip side of that coin, what things 补谤别苍鈥檛 a waste of time or money? I identify two groups of things that are not a waste of time or money.

First, things that provide genuine personal value to you are not a waste a time or money. Playing board games forces me to think deeply and it also provides a powerful avenue for socializing 鈥� those things provide genuine personal value to me. Others might find board games boring and a pretty poor avenue for socializing and thus they might view it as a waste of time.

The difference is in what provides genuine value to me, not to you. We are all different, with different skills and talents and different interests and different personal values.

Second, things that provide genuine value to others are not a waste of time or money. I鈥檓 referring to work here, but also to volunteerism and to helping friends. If others value what you鈥檙e doing (and are willing to compensate you in some way for it), then it鈥檚 not a waste of time.

I keep thinking of that young man finishing that skateboard. It looked fantastic. Skateboarders would pay well for that type of skill.

A wonderful ideal is finding a way to do something that falls into both groups: it provides value to you and to others. For me, writing falls into this category.

Success Comes From Being Alert and Minimizing the Waste
Successful people attempt to minimize the time and money they spend on things that do not provide genuine value to them or to others. They also look for ways to spend their time and money on things that provide more value to them or to others than whatever it is they鈥檙e currently doing.

This requires focus. You have to evaluate everything you do in a given day. 鈥淲hy am I doing this?鈥� 鈥淚s it something that I really personally value?鈥� 鈥淚s it adding value to my life?鈥� 鈥淚s it adding value to the lives of others?鈥� 鈥淗ow much value am I really getting from this in terms of personal growth, financial gain, or relationships built?鈥�

Asking those questions will lead you to some surprising revelations. For me, for example, I found that spending twenty minutes with my eyes closed in a dark room while trying to focus on clearing my mind of all thoughts was far more relaxing (and thus valuable) than an hour spent watching television. I found that making dinner for my family (and often with them involved in the process) added far more value to my life than the time spent going out to dinner with them. I found that getting adequate sleep each night was far more valuable than cutting an hour of sleep out to 鈥済et more done.鈥� I found that practicing the piano was just as relaxing and far more valuable (for me) than that same amount of time spent playing World of Warcraft. I found that spending some time each week reading and some time writing a short story or two was more valuable than spending that time forcing myself to write something strictly based on personal finance.

And, yes, I found that playing board games with some close friends, alternating between focusing on how to win and focusing on good conversation and exchange of ideas, is an extremely valuable way for me to spend my time on occasion.

When someone tells you that what you鈥檙e doing is a waste of time or a waste of money, don鈥檛 be afraid to rethink what you鈥檙e doing. At the same time, don鈥檛 assume that it actually is a waste of time or money, because that definition depends on you, not them.

Figure out your small handful of true core values, follow them in whatever you do, and they鈥檒l always lead you to success.

------------------------------

海角大神 has assembled a diverse group of the best economy-related bloggers out there. Our guest bloggers are not employed or directed by the Monitor and the views expressed are the bloggers' own, as is responsibility for the content of their blogs. To contact us about a blogger, click here. To add or view a comment on a guest blog, please go to the blogger's own site by clicking on the link above.