Whenever I'm bored (and often when I'm not as well), I like to come up with problems to solve or situations to analyze. One such time, I decided to try to determine what is a human being's most valuable resource. Money definitely isn't it; besides the fact that there are so many things worth more than money, I see money as more of a means to acquiring resources rather than a resource in and of itself. I suppose a case could be made for water, or something of that sort that is imperative to survival. But I think that time itself is our most valuable resource.
No doubt we're not accustomed to thinking of time as a resource. That's unfortunate, though, because I think there would be significant benefits if we did. I assume nearly all of us would say that time is very valuable, but it's troubling sometimes to see how frequently it's wasted (and at times I admit I'm as guilty as anyone else). Nevertheless, we may all agree that time is valuable. But why exactly is it so valuable?
I think one way to answer that question would utilize the principle of scarcity in economics. One way to define economics is the study of how people satisfy their needs and desires by acquiring scarce resources. "Scarce" simply means finite and limited. Suppose that on our planet we had an unlimited supply of water. As a result there would be no competition to acquire water because everyone's needs could be met without depriving anyone else. But on the flip side, imagine that there are only 100 gallons of (drinkable) water left on the planet, and no way to acquire more. Suddenly water would be in very high demand (to put it lightly). If any of those gallons were being sold, the price would be astronomically high. In a situation like that the demand for water would almost certainly be so high that people would kill for it. These are two very different scenarios, and the only difference between them is the amount of water that is available.
Therefore, the basic principle is that things become more valuable as they become more scarce. Each gallon of water is much more valuable when there are only 100. If time is considered a resource, then it's no exception to this rule. Within the next hour of your life, you might watch TV, read a book, go on Facebook, or any number of things. You probably won't worry too much about how you're going to spend that hour because you expect to have many more hours in your life. But imagine for a moment how valuable that hour would be if you knew you only had 100 hours left to live!
I think that most of us become increasingly aware of the importance of time as we get older. I think one of the most powerful things that a child could understand is how important it is to use his or her time wisely. Sadly, most people at a very young age simply haven't reached the point in their maturity to fully grasp this concept. It's unfortunate because that's exactly when we have the most time. Gradually, as we get older, two things happen:
The first is that our lives become busier. We go to school, we get jobs, we have families, and we find ourselves with less and less free time.
The other thing that happens is that time itself seems to go faster as we get older. I used to puzzle about why this happens, and my best guess is that it's a difference in perspective based on comparison. In other words, the year during which a child is two years old probably seems like a lifetime. Why? Because it is a lifetime to that child. With only one year through which to look back, one more year is 50% of that child's cumulative life. As the child ages, one year will become smaller and smaller portions of the child's entire life. By the time we reach adulthood, one year is relatively very small compared to the total time we've lived thus far, and will seem rather short as a result.
The problem is increased when we reflect on the fact that as we get older, we have less and less time before us. Simultaneously, two things are happening: we learn more and more how valuable time is, and we constantly lose it. As we become more equipped to use our time wisely, we lose more and more time to use wisely.
To refer once more to imagining time as a resource, one way to look at it is to imagine that at the beginning of our lives we are given a certain amount of money (we don't know exactly how much), and there's no way to increase that amount. Then, once each minute, one dollar is taken from us, and there's no way to stop it. There's only one thing over which we have control: what is done with the dollar. We can spend it on something useless like junk food, or it can be used for a wise investment. But one thing is for certain: we cannot stop the steady outflow of dollars.
In this situation I'm sure we all would put a great deal of thought into how our dollars were used, and it would be difficult to divert our attention even for a short time and not be in control of how a few of those dollars were used.
This is exactly how it is with time. It cannot be stopped, it cannot be slowed, it cannot be saved for use later. And to top it all off, there's no way to see where it's going. Moving forward in time is like driving a car down a freeway at a constant speed (that cannot be altered), and you can only see through the back window; you can't see forward at all! This lack of foresight makes responsible allocation of time even more valuable and necessary.
Once again I'd like to refer to a principle of economics: the concept of opportunity cost. An opportunity cost is the greatest thing that is forgone in order to acquire a particular asset. For example, suppose I have $500, and I choose to purchase a new guitar with it. Before buying it, I try to figure out the next best thing I could buy with that same money. After a reasonable amount of deliberation, I determine that the next most valuable thing for $500 would be a shiny pair of high heels, and determining that I wouldn't have a lot of use for them, I easily choose the guitar. My example is humorous, but the point I'm trying to illustrate is that in economics, the next best thing that is foregone is actually considered a cost. If I buy the guitar, it's as if I'm losing the shoes. For a more applicable example, imagine my family is starving, and I spend our only money on a new guitar. My opportunity cost, that which is lost, is food for my family. And I've lost my ability to provide it for them.
Once again, the principle of opportunity cost can be applied to time as well. And it applies constantly, at every moment. Right now, I've chosen to work on this blog post. My opportunity cost is the homework that I need to get done. I'm not very worried because I have several days to complete it, and I'm already almost done. But if it were due in one hour, I definitely wouldn't be doing this right now!
I think the principle of opportunity cost would be very helpful in managing our time wisely. Knowing what we are giving up in order to gain something else is an effective way to determine the value of what we're trying to gain.
The difficulty is that sometimes this can result in an obsessive tendency to over-analyze every single action and almost be afraid to do anything because we imagine that there might be a better use of our time. Hopefully not many people would fall into this trap, but I'm definitely one who struggles with it. Obviously, making ourselves crazy isn't the optimal result of such consideration of how we spend our time. There is a balanced way to approach the whole issue. I haven't yet determined the best method for determining that balance, but I feel that most of time I achieve an acceptable balance without driving myself crazy. However, there's always room for improvement.
If I were ever given the opportunity to design a universe, I think I would make one in which time could be deferred like monetary transactions. Saving money is simply using present earnings for future purchases, and borrowing is using future earnings for present purchases. In other words, saving and borrowing is simply playing around with time, in a way. If only the same could be done with time! If only it were possible save up the moments during which not a lot is happening, and use them later when they would be much more valuable! Such a concept is difficult to imagine, but I'm sure it would be a power far too great to be wielded responsibly by human beings...
In the end, the bottom line is that the degree to which we value time is ultimately reflected not by how much we say we value it, but by the way in which actually use it. One of the most powerful things we can do for ourselves would be to ascribe to time the value that it actually has (which is still, I'm sure, much more than we could possibly understand).
As far as the best way to achieve this, I'm no better equipped to determine this than anyone else. The way I view it is based on regrets. If I had to name my biggest fear, it would be wasting opportunities that I can never get back. Therefore, the way I try to live is simply to do my best to avoid any ways of spending my time that I would regret due to the opportunities I had passed up. I suppose, when I reach the end of my life, I'll finally be able to determine if I was successful!
