One way to get a true sense of what’s important to someone is to look at how and where they spend their money.
Last month, I spent a heap of money on…my hair. That’s right. I tried a new look with some extensions. It was very costly and after a 5 hour session I didn’t like how I looked. So I went to a second hairdresser four days after to have it cut in a different style. Still was not happy. So I went to a third hairdresser to have the extensions removed the following week. The removal was a disaster. I went searching online and bought special products. I then took a train to the end of the line followed by a taxi for another 15 minutes to a fourth hair dresser I found online to help remedy the situation. At this point I was then back to square one and found a fifth hairdresser on Facebook who would finally to give me the look I was happy with. Five hairdressers and almost a thousand dollars in a three week period. All for what? A new hairdo that looked very similar to what I had before!
I was a bit upset with myself for this whole scenario. But as I thought of the money, time and effort I put into this pursuit, I realized that it certainly said a lot about what was important to me. And then I thought of other things I had put off doing because I did not want to spend the money, or maybe I had not searched online for a really good resource, or I had not bought the software or book that could really help me excel in an area. So I stopped the excuses.
So you too should take a look at what you’re spending your most money on, or where you are spending your most time and energy. Is it really taking you where you want to go, or is it just a mindless distraction or a plain waste?
If you have identified what is important to you, what you want to achieve and what you believe is God’s purpose for your life, then invest in those things.
If you say that weight loss is a goal, are you really devoting the money, time and energy to achieve that? If you desire to become a musical legend, are you spending time every day practicing or writing, and are you spending money on the resources that will help you along? If your goal is to grow your business are you spending money joining the organizations you need to, or subscribing to publications or even writing online to connect with others? If it is better family relations, are you spending the time and energy to call, write, visit, nurture and communicate with your loved ones?
Stop wasting time and money on things that are not taking you to where you really want to be. And start investing time, money and energy in creating your ideal life; Your very own garden of eden.