One Tool For Investing in What Matters
Habituating investment—every financial guru, economics professor, and money manager will tell you it’s the key to success. Put a little aside every month, they say. Watch it grow, they say. See the impact, they say. But we all know the tricky truth: Habituating financial investment is hard. My 401(k) balance proves as much.
What holds true for investing in the market holds true for my marriage. And my kids. And my spiritual life. And my creativity. But investing in these things—the things I care about most—brings growth to those areas. And when I experience growth in those areas, I’m happier. So why do I often invest my spare time in those things? As I wrote yesterday, maybe I value them less than I think. (Remember that Walker Percy quote?) Worse still, maybe I’m attached to other things, things that drag my attention away from what matters most. (I do, after all, really love work and money.)
After my conversation with retired Federal Court judge Bill Duffey (read here for the backstory), I set my mind to invest in the things that meant the most to me, and as a reminder to execute on that investment, I began using the tool I carry with me every day all day. My calendar. How?
Step 1:
On Monday morning, I reviewed my upcoming week—the work that needed doing, the meetings, the family calendar. I examined how full my calendar was of money-making stuff. I examined how empty it was of the things I value most.
Step 2:
I examined how I might invest in the things I value most. How could I bring Amber a little extra happiness? How could I encourage my sons to grow into the examined life? How could I pursue spiritual growth? In what ways did I want to invest in my writing, my photography, my creativity?
Step 3:
I sketched out ideas for investing in the things I value most. Then, I turned to my calendar and blocked out time for each of those things.
Wed, 7:00 a.m.: Send flowers to Amber.
Thurs, 6:40 a.m.: Attend mass.
Thurs, 3:00 p.m.: Text the boys.
Fri, 3:00 p.m.: Create or edit a photograph.
Living a Life of Examined Investment: It doesn’t happen by accident.
The examined life does not happen by accident. It requires intention, purpose. And here’s my confession: So often, I’ve lacked in that intention, that purpose; so often, I’ve taken a more poetic approach reasoning life will do what life does and I’ll just go with the flow. But the real truth is this: the more poetic approach is carving out time to invest in the poetry of life. The real truth is investing in that poetry—my love, my lineage, my spiritual wellbeing, my creativity—brings greater poetic returns.
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