Are you giving the proper attention to the things you value?

Drew’s Reminder,

“Are you giving the proper attention to the things you value?”  

      Value is a very interesting subject.  It is a concept that we are privileged to have the opportunity to discuss.  Because of our great intelligence we created a system for quantifying value as we have progressed.  That system was the use of money.  The first use of money can be traced back to about 3000 years ago.  Prior to money the bartering system was the prevalent way to exchange goods and services.  Over those 3000 years the value of money hasn’t really changed.  At its onset it was always a perceived value.

              At one point in history money was made of a material that people coveted or it was made in some artistic mold that people coveted.  In both instances the people themselves put some kind of value on that money which made it worth exchanging goods or services.  Collectively each individual had to perceive that same value or the money would have never worked.  Let’s take gold for example.  At some point in our lives we decided that gold was pretty, it was scarce and it was desirable so it had value.  There are other materials that are scarce but not perceived as pretty and therefore don’t hold any value.  The point that I’m making is that the value is perceived.

     The same can be said for bartering.  The only difference is you can immediately see what you are getting for the exchange.  When you exchange money for goods or services you don’t actually see the goods or services you get until you spend the money.  But in both cases you put some perceived value on the exchanged goods or services.  Someone could wash your car in exchange for a ride into town and back.  In order for that to work the person receiving the car wash would have to perceive a value of having a washed car and see a value in not driving someone into town if they don’t have to.  It’s all up to the two individual’s perceived value for any exchange to work.  So it is all about perception.

     There are some perceptions that are accepted by the majority so there’s no need to really look into how you perceive it.  Your perceptions don’t matter as much in those cases.  That is the case when it comes to money.  It’s only a piece of paper or a coin made of common material, but everyone perceives value in it.  Therefore, it is important for you to have money to use to exchange goods and services.  Without that perception money wouldn’t place such a big role in our existence. 

     I’ve talked a lot about money and its perceived value.  I did that so that I could make a point.  We put a lot of effort into getting money because of its perceived value.  What else are we putting a lot of perceived value in when it comes to other parts of our life?  Do you perceive value in being in love?  Do you perceive value it having integrity?  Do you perceive value in being a great parent?  Do you perceive value in being happy?  Do you perceive value in giving?  Do you perceive value in gaining knowledge?  Do you perceive value in being at peace?  Do you see value in having friends?  Lots of questions right?  You don’t have to answer all of them at once.  If you answered yes to any of them, I want you to think about the actions you are taking to increase your amount of any of those items.

     When it comes to money, we can all talk about what we do to increase the amount of it.  We work, we save, and we borrow.  We do whatever we can to get more money.  But let’s say you value gaining knowledge.  What do you do to gain more knowledge?  Do you read books or research information wherever you can?  I know many of you will say of course I do.  However, let’s compare it to the time you spend trying to increase the amount of money you obtain.  There are only 24 hours in a day.  We sleep 6-8 hours of those 24 if we are lucky.  That leaves 16-18 hours for us to work with. Many of us work 8-10 of those hours.  So we spend 50-56% of our available time working to gain more money.  Even more of that time is spent if you do something on the side besides your normal 8-10 hour of work time. 

     So let’s assume you do have 6 hours of time that you can spend gaining other things you perceive value in.  I know this isn’t realistic for most because of family, commitments and other things that take your time.  I’m hoping you are spending at least 50-56% of those 6 hours the same way you do for the amount of hours available to work.  And before you tell me you need some time to relax or rest, that’s what those 6-8 hours of sleep are for.   Too many of us are not utilizing that time the way we should.  Some of us are caught up watching 4 hours of television every night (the news, reality tv show, Scandal, Empire, Glee, etc).  That tells me you have a perceived value in watching television.  Otherwise you wouldn’t invest so much of your time in it.  I’m sure you won’t admit to it but like the old saying goes “actions speak louder than words”.

     Trust me I’m not trying to judge what you do or how you spend your time.  I just want you to think about what you perceive value you in and are you investing the proper amount of time and effort into it to get more of it.  If you value gaining more knowledge, set a goal to do just that.  Read a book or research a topic.  If you value being in love, invest more time in the art of loving.  Make a conscious effort.  If you value being a great parent, invest more time and effort into parenting your children.  If you value being at peace, invest some time into meditating or yoga to make you more peaceful.  If you value being happy, make a conscious effort to experience happiness as often as you can.  If you value giving, invest you time into finding ways to give.  The list goes on and on.  I’m just asking you to take some time to evaluate where you perceive value and then appropriate the right time and effort to get more of it in your life.

With gratitude,

Drew