海角大神

The other day, I spent an hour playing an abstract strategy game with my oldest son. After that, I spent roughly the same amount of time helping my daughter build a LEGO kit that was way above her age level. My youngest son and I played a game of 鈥淲ord World,鈥� in which we take letter blocks and line them up to make words, then try to find those words in our house.

Besides spending a bunch of time with my kids, I also wrote a letter to an old friend expressing condolences about a personal challenge she鈥檚 overcoming, did some exercise that left me panting and will leave me with very sore arms and upper body in the morning, and read a few chapters of a听rather challenging book. I also worked on some non-Simple Dollar writing and content production.

In each of these cases,听I made an investment.听I invested time. I invested energy. I invested focus and attention.

In each of these cases,听I will earn a return for that investment.听

My children will be more sophisticated thinkers. They鈥檒l also have a stronger emotional balance because of the positive relationship I鈥檓 building with each one of them.

I鈥檒l have a stronger relationship with my old friend, and hopefully that old friend will be consoled and be in a better state because of my letter.

I鈥檒l be in better physical shape because of my exercise.

My mind will be stronger because of the struggle with challenging ideas.

I鈥檒l have a few more sources that will earn me a small trickle of income for the foreseeable future.

None of these investments (besides the last one) earn me income in any direct way听and even the last one will only earn me a few dollars over a very long period of time.

However,听just like the act of investing my money, these investments will earn me rewards over a very long period of time.

A good relationship with my children and with my friends reaps constant social rewards. Better physical shape gives me improved health over the long term (and in the short term, too). A better mind means a greater ability to solve the problems that life hands to me.

These things can lead to greater financial reward, but they lead to rewards in other aspects of life, too.

It is听very听easy to look at the time and energy you spend as either being for 鈥渨ork,鈥� meaning you earn an income from it or it鈥檚 something you听have听to do, or it鈥檚 鈥減lay,鈥� meaning you do it for personal enjoyment.

This is a division I see quite often, actually.听I tend to see it the most often in people who are struggling in their career path as well as people who are struggling in their financial life as well.

In my experience,听the best use of one鈥檚 time is what I call 鈥渋nvested鈥� time.听The same goes for energy and focus.

The question that鈥檚 always worth asking is听does this activity I鈥檓 engaging in add any value to my future?听If it鈥檚 hard to ascertain some sort of value for the future, then it鈥檚 probably not a good way to use one鈥檚 time.

The initial assumption that many people make听鈥� including myself at an earlier point in my life 鈥撎�is that using one鈥檚 time in this way can鈥檛 ever be an enjoyable thing.听Often, choosing to invest one鈥檚 time and energy in a way that provides fruit for the future means not choosing the most 鈥渇un鈥� path, but it does听not听mean the choice isn鈥檛 enjoyable.

I take a few approaches to this problem.

First,听when something I鈥檓 about to do clearly leads to self-improvement, such as reading, I try to choose something that鈥檚 challenging but not so much that it ceases to be enjoyable.听I鈥檒l read a hard book, one that challenges me and makes me think, but I don鈥檛 read an impossible book. I鈥檒l do hard exercises, ones that make me pant and sweat, but I don鈥檛 do ones that leave me feeling miserable and convince me to avoid exercise in the future. I鈥檒l play with my kids, but I鈥檒l push us toward something where the children will actually learn something from the activity, and that theoretically teaches me something, too, while still remaining enjoyable.

Second,听I try to look for ways to get more future value out of the things I enjoy.听I enjoy board games, for example, and I enjoy talking about them and sharing thoughts, so I鈥檝e started working on a series of board game review videos that will appear on Youtube. Not only does this create a trickle of a revenue stream, it also teaches me valuable lessons about video production, yet it鈥檚 still enjoyable because I鈥檓 focusing on a topic I deeply personally enjoy.

If I鈥檓 practicing something for personal enjoyment, I鈥檒l often focus on deliberate practice in an effort to actually become better at whatever I鈥檓 practicing. That way, my future attempts at whatever I鈥檓 practicing actually become better and more enjoyable.

Third,听if I feel low enough in energy level that I don鈥檛听want听to do any of these things, I go to bed (or at least meditate).听If I don鈥檛 feel like doing anything, I鈥檓 tired, either physically or mentally, and the best response in those situations is to get rest. Sitting in front of the television in a half-awake stupor doesn鈥檛 benefit me at all, but a good night of sleep or half an hour of meditation absolutely does.

All of these things are investments. All of these things are fun, too. All of them build long-term dividends, whether it鈥檚 in improved skills, improved relationships, or even direct improved income.

There鈥檚 almost unlimited value in every moment of our lives. If you stop and look at every moment not only as a moment to savor, but as a moment to invest into a more beautiful future, the potential of life seems endless.