“The Price of Anything is the Amount of Life You Exchange for it”
I read this quote from Thoreau recently and it stopped me in my tracks.
The older I get, the more I understand the gravity of the fact time is the most precious resource we have.
We can make all the money in the world, take care of our bodies (which, of course, I highly recommend), and do all the things, but we cannot stop time. It will pass whether we want it to or not, and eventually, we shall pass, too.
We look at the price from a monetary standpoint, but in reality, price is how much of our time we are willing to spend in order to attain something we desire.
Even if something does have a price tag, we had to exchange our time for the money we earned.
The house you have, the car you drive, the clothes on your back, the watch on your wrist, the purse over your shoulder, the muscles you show off, the relationships you enjoy.
All those things were obtained because you exchanged some amount of time to attain them.
The Price of Life
Every day we are given a set amount of a finite resource. You get to use it all, but you can never get it back. I’ve wasted more than my fair share over the years, but I think we all have.
However, we all have different sets of priorities, different values, and operate our lives as we see fit.
When is the last time you did a time audit?
A time audit is where you literally track every hour of your day. Sleeping, working, eating, cooking, exercising, spending time with your family, mindlessly scrolling through social media, staring off into space, and the list goes on.
People love to say they don’t have time, but it’s shocking…dare I say even appalling…the amount of time wasted each day.
I encourage you to take a good, hard look at how you spend your time, your life. As a self-employed entrepreneur, I probably work more hours per week now than I ever have.
I’m constantly looking for better ways to serve my clients, to help facilitate change, to motivate other people to demand the very best of themselves.
As a father, I understand the importance not of time with my boys, but QUALITY time with them.
It’s my responsibility to raise good men, and no amount of time I can spend with them is futile.
Each day I wake up, I exchange a small part of my existence for something. Thankfully, I get to choose how that looks. I choose to be a servant.
I choose happiness. I choose passion. I choose joy. I choose love.
If I said you have to pay money for every day you live, would you choose the same? Would anyone really choose anger, bitterness, resentment, hatred?
Yet far too many do exactly that, and never attempt to change.
So I ask, what are YOU exchanging your life for?
