Are You Squandering Your Most Valuable Asset?
There are 2,668 billionaires in the world, according to Forbes. Their vast wealth allows them to do almost anything they want — but none of them can stop that grumpy bastard, Father Time.
Would you rather be given $1,000 today or in two years? You, along with the billionaires, will presumably answer today. That's because of the time value of money. And yet when it comes to time, we value the present less than the future and the past. Psychologist, Tara Brach, alluded to this, saying:
“We often think we're either on the way to important moments or they're in the past."
For reasons we don't fully understand, we're blinded to the significance of the moment we're in — we discount it. We're constantly lost in reliving the past or dreaming (and worrying) over the future — forgetting that this moment matters. And soon, we'll fondly remember today as the "good old days."
In finance, we discount projected future earnings to determine the present value of a company. In life, we should discount the past and the future. The past is unchangeable, and the future is unknown. This valuation confusion can result in a life of regrets — missed moments, unfulfilled promises, and superficial relationships.
Awareness of our poor time valuation skills is nothing new. Even 2,000 years ago, Stoic philosophers were mindful of our tendency to misjudge and poorly allocate time. Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius said,
"Keep this in mind, that each of us lives only this present and indivisible moment. Everything else has either already been lived or is uncertain."
He often reminded himself in his Mediations to savor the moment. Many since have also noticed our time-value challenge. Montaigne wrote in 1580:
"We are never home; we are always elsewhere. Fear, desire, and hope push us towards the future; they rob us of feeling and concern for what is by distracting us with what will be, even when we will be no more."
The shame of the miscalculation is that we unwittingly shape the future by undervaluing the present — the present, therefore, is a variable in future outcomes. We're stealing from the future by thinking and longing for it rather than acting today.
Money is worth more today than the same amount in the future because it can be invested, resulting in a larger sum. But if you squander money today, it cannot grow. Time works in much the same way. If we waste today worrying over things we can't control and acting unvirtuously on those we can, how can we expect positive returns?
Yet, again and again, we waste the present — choosing instead to live in a time gone by or one that may never come. Another famous Stoic philosopher, Seneca, said:
"Men are tight-fisted in guarding their fortunes but extravagant when it comes to wasting time — the one thing about which it is right to be greedy."
I imagine many billionaires fight ruthlessly to guard their net worth. They might defend their dollars with legal and financial instruments, clinging to that wealth and what it says about them. But time, our most valuable asset, isn't found on any net worth statement. Time is a rapidly depreciating asset, and we know not how much we have. Still, many squander it like it's an infinite resource.
Whether you're a billionaire or just scraping by, you can live a prosperous life if you understand the time/value relationship. The only control you have is in this very moment:
“There is only one way to be happy. Keep this thought ready for use morning, noon, and night. Give up the desire for things not under your control.” — Epictetus, Discourses 4.4.39
This moment may seem insignificant. It is but one of many moments, so to waste it seems inconsequential. But like money, time sums amass when we fritter away enough tiny moments — and what is life but a series of moments? As George Washington said, "many mickles make a muckle." Things add up! You may live many more years or be in the final inning of life — but why forfeit the present either way?
This moment matters; what you choose to do and who you surround yourself with matter. The habits you develop matter. While each moment may be but a mickle, a muckle of time will soon pass.
“Even if you live three thousand — or thirty thousand — years, you should remember this. You cannot lose any other life than the one you are living now.” — Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, 2.14
