I was recently discussing property values in Brian Head Utah with my neighbor. I had recently purchased a plot of land near the ski resort and was trying to convince him to buy some land too. Surprisingly he was up for considering the idea. However, he decided against it due to the drive time.
Living in southern California, driving distances are measured in time as opposed to mileage. The time can change drastically over the course of a day and will mentally wear on you. His reluctance to commit to a vacation that requires a 9 hour drive didn’t surprise me. Although, his logic did.
Time is Money
There is this concept that time requires a certain value to be assigned to it. This works in an occupational context but it got me thinking about how I value my time outside of work. How much time do I waste sitting on ass doing nothing? Does this mean I am potentially throwing money away? What could I be doing with my time to maximize my return? How does wasting time get me closer to my long term goals?
The Dichotomy
My neighbor is married and works a busy schedule. He values his downtime much like I do. This makes sense because we hang out quite often and waste each others time. The biggest difference between the two of us is that I have kids.
Kids complicate the equation. Time is not money in this context. Time is based on the quality of how it is spent. Driving in LA traffic is a waste of time; Road tripping for 9 hours, however, is quality time. I love my lengthy drives with my kids. It gives me a chance to sit with them in an environment free of outside influences and just have a conversation. Time becomes more valuable because I would not have this opportunity otherwise.
Short Bursts
A few weeks ago I had to run up to Utah to look at some land that I eventually purchased. I took my son with me so we could hang out. The only plan was to survey the land, other than that it was wide open for suggestion. We ended up getting roped into seeing a solar eclipse, hiking in Zion, and riding motorcycles. Lets pretend for a minute that we didn’t take this trip. What would that look like sitting at home?
Burning a typical weekend at home involves sleeping in. The kids spend the morning watching tv or playing video games. We occasionally have a softball game or football game but otherwise I really don’t get to hang out with the kids all that much. The shitty part is that even when I have time to hang out with them I just don’t. I end up getting pulled to fix things or help people. I rarely have time to just play with my kids. It’s all in short bursts.
Wasting Time
On the road we had a chance to catch up. I learned about how there are a couple of his buddies at school that got in trouble for fighting. We had a long conversation about violence and how its never your first choice. I also explained that violence has a place in protecting. We spoke about the difference between being a nice person and being a good person.
A nice person is a people pleaser that can be bought through peer pressure. They do good things only because they are afraid to do bad things. A good person is someone who does the right thing even if it is not popular. And yes, sometimes this means violence. These people do good things because they choose to. This is what everyone should strive to be. Do the right thing because it is the right thing to do.
All of a sudden this time spent on the road doesn’t feel like its a waste anymore.
Different Viewpoint
I understand that my neighbor has other things to do. For him its about the destination. For me, its more of a journey. There is no right way to spend your time as long as you keep moving forward. Perspective can drastically change your perception of the events. Check out these two photos utilizing the same tree stump from different angles and see how perspective makes things look grander.
