time is money (work + faith = investment)

Have you ever heard a phrase or thought that you knew or understood for a long time, and suddenly takes on a new meaning?

Time is money.  
Benjamin Franklin

I think almost everyone has heard this quote, and it applies to so many aspects of life and business. I believe that most would consider the meaning of this statement to relate to the idea that money can be earned if time is spent wisely. However, recently I have been thinking a lot about this quote, and I’m starting to understand the phrase a little differently. 

At the beginning of the new year, it’s natural to take a look at your goals, and set some resolutions for what you’d like to accomplish in the next twelve months. I find that it’s easy for me to be disciplined and driven with certain things, while I procrastinate and fail to prioritize other tasks. Even if I claim that those things are important to me, or have added value to my life in the past, my lack of discipline says otherwise. And anyone who knows me well, knows that at the top of my pet peeve list is when people (even when it’s me) express that they are going to do something, but then they don’t do it. It ranks right up there with complaining about something if you are unwilling to take action to change. I definitely don’t want to be one of those people. 

So, I’m working on this in my own life. I’m taking the time to notice the differences between the things I am committed to, and the things I regularly neglect… and asking myself what makes the difference in these choices. For example, why am I able to make it to strength training 4-5x a week, grinding out workouts, even when I’m in a lot of pain? Or get up super early so I can read my bible and have a little time to study and meditate in the morning before work? Both of these things require a great deal of discipline and sacrifice, but I consistently manage to find the time and energy. On the other hand, it has been really tough to find the diligence to write regularly— even though I totally want to…and there is no physical sacrifice involved. Surely, finding 15-20 minutes to write in a journal every day, or work on my blog, should be much easier than deadlifting with a headache, or studying at 5am, when I could be getting another hour of sleep. 
But that’s not how it works. 
I am finding that it isn’t about how easy or difficult something it is. 
It’s not even how much those things will “pay off”.  
It more or less boils down to the choices you make on how you will spend your time.
It’s a choice. 

So, this is where the “Time is money.” reference comes in. I was thinking about the concept of time the other day, and how the time we are given is like being given a continuous flow of money…that can only be spent in the exact moment that it is received. As the money comes in, you decide in that moment how to spend it— and that’s how time is. 
You can’t count on having it in the future. 
You can’t save it from the past. 
You spend it as you go— but you can choose to invest it. 

Discipline is the part of life that is like investing. You can make a choice to be diligent about certain aspects of life, in order to have the opportunity make the future better.  There are no guarantees in investing - there is only commitment to the work, and faith that it will make the future better. 

Work + Faith = Investment 

In the end… time is money. 
Spend it wisely. 
Invest it carefully. 
And be mindful of your choices to do so… because therein lies the sometimes brutal honesty about what is truly important to us. 

In relentless pursuit, 
Amy
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#we