Spent vs. Invested Time

How do you spend your time and energy? Your most precious resources.

Do you cash them in for a benefit now, or invest with longer-term benefits in mind?

It’s easy to spend time but difficult to spend it wisely. Life is filled with opportunities for both. It’s our job to find the ideal balance.

Spending offers immediate benefits. This can be a fun and unrepeatable experience or it can be scrolling Twitter and shopping on Amazon. The downfalls of unwise spending are felt too late. It’s impossible to get time back that was never present.

On the flip side, investing means delaying the greater upside for a later time. Working out, learning something new, and making time to walk with your family are all good time investments.

Great things take investment. Incredible benefits are built from compounding and compounding requires time. Consistent energy and focus invested in the same direction creates momentum that is difficult to break. Simple, not easy.

As Naval Ravikant says,

"A fit body, a calm mind, a house full of love. These things cannot be bought - they must be earned."

He's right. These all require investing our time and energy. Both are finite resources we decide how to use.

A fit body requires consistent months and years of healthy diet, exercise, and sleep.

A calm mind requires going through and learning from tough situations to gain useful perspectives.

A house full of love is an infinite act requiring small, caring efforts repeated day after day.

When in doubt, choose to invest and commit with your actions. What you do proves what’s most important to yourself and others. Invest your time and energy into activities that align with your values.

Unsure what to do in the moment? Here’s a quick test:

Do your current actions lead to a result you want or not?

Simple, not easy.

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