I think of life as having some set resources (Time, Energy, Money), and with these resources, you can get products that you want (Stuff, Experiences/Memories, Emotions).
Perhaps mathematically, it could be proposed it is an equation of sorts (the exact steps in this equation, though are of course are too complicated and are beyond my grasp to eloquently express at the moment):
(Time, Energy, Money) —————————-> (Stuff, Experiences/Memories, Emotions)
I wish I had an unlimited supply of the things on the left (Time, Energy, Money), but I realize they are finite. And I think we are often trading our time and/or energy to get money. (Again the equation is a lot more complicated than what I am crudely trying to show here.) But, a combination or some or all of these resources (that is, time, energy, and money) can give us the products on the right. What is it that you want to get with your time, energy, or money? Sometimes, it is complicated, and it is a unique combination of things. Sometimes it is stuff. Sometimes it is an experience e.g. a honeymoon or a once-in-a-lifetime trip in Europe. Sometimes it is to gain positive emotions, e.g. contentment, tranquility, pride, joy, self-satisfaction.
I think that the journey to learning what you truly want in life is easier once you know your values. This is not an easy thing to boil down in one sitting, and it is highly individual. But, I think this exercise of learning what you truly value is immensely important. And once you know what you truly value, you can then budget out your finite resources of Time, Energy, and Money to then lining up your actions in life to be in tune with your values.
Personally, I value the following:
- Family
- Health
- Creativity
- Freedom
- Fun
These are broad categories, but I truly hope to budget my Time, Energy, and Money toward nurturing these 5 things in my life going forward.
For Family, I hope to nurture my relationships with my husband and 2 kids, and also my extended family. For Health, I hope to continue to use my time and energy to developing my running hobby, and taking care of myself with nutrition and rest each day and week to keep my body running healthily and for (hopefully) a long time. For creativity, I hope to nurture things such as running, reading, music, and other outlets that allow me to make something that reflects my thoughts, feelings, and emotions, and in the process, that may inspire others. For freedom, I hope to have more control over my day to day schedule. At this point, I do not have this 100%, but I hope to in the years to come. To achieve this, I must be very diligent with my savings goals, to hopefully in time have enough to support my needs and wants in life so work can someday be optional. And for fun, I hope to never take life too seriously. I hope my kids, husband, extended family and friends continue to inspire me to play. In this category, I consider experiences such as travel a prime way I hope to have fun with those I love. Again, to achieve this, I plan to be conscientious with my savings goals (once my debt is paid off) to have funds saved to take trips with those I love, to create the memories and experiences of a lifetime.
As you can see, these things are all interconnected, but I think my equation helps to summarize things and put things in perspective:
(Time, Energy, Money) ——–Life Values-———> (Stuff, Experiences/Memories, Emotions)
On the arrow above, I have added the thought that your own unique “Life Values” play a key part in determining your pathway, and they greatly influence the choices you make to getting the products you want in life. It is crucial also to revisit these values in your life, and see if your actions in life are truly lining up with what you want. Are you using your time wisely, focusing on the things you want to achieve? Or are you wasting it to a degree, on things that don’t matter? How about your energy? Are you investing waking hours and physical and mental energy into endeavors that bring you joy and fulfillment? And how about your money? Is it being invested, saved, and spent in a way that is in line with what you truly value? This is not an easy exercise, and something that I think we all struggle with as we go through life. But I think this is a good thing to revisit regularly, e.g. every month, to ensure you are truly getting what you want in life.