What is your most precious resource as a parent or grandparent?
Certainly, as a parent, we immediately think of our children as our most precious gifts, and often we look at all our resources and assets in relation to our legacy.
We plan for medical expenses. We plan for college expenses. We plan for our retirement, so we don’t burden our children. We take out life insurance and invest in IRAs and other investments. Money and investments are certainly a priority. However, if you have lost everything, starting over is possible! There are always new opportunities and investments.
In fact, if renewability is the standard for how precious an asset is, then we can also remove relationships from the top of the list. Relationships are some of the most important assets that we have. Few things are more important to your health and success. Relationships, even badly broken, can be fixed. New relationships can be built. With care and effort, relationships can be renewed.
What about health and vitality? So much new information is being discovered about our health and wellbeing! We are discovering that we are more resilient than we ever thought possible and, simultaneously, more fragile.
Even so, as with money and relationships, our health can be largely renewable. Day by day we can make better choices and regain levels of health that we had or even attain better levels of health for the first time.
So, what is the one resource that is at the top of the list for most precious?
The one resource that tops the list for everyone is the one that is finite.
It is non-renewable.
Time.
Every second that goes by is a second we cannot get back.
While we know this, we spend this precious resource as if there was an endless supply.
We spend our time doing things that others could do. We spend our time on things that will not matter at all in a week, let alone 50 years or even 5 years!
Believe it or not, this can lead to overwhelm and loss of focus, which in turn lead to other problems.
When we are stressed, our cortisol level increases, which leads to poor mental and emotional states, inflammation, weight gain, and digestive disorders, among other health issues. When we are depleted physically, our relationships often suffer.
When we have poor relationships, we become even more distracted and our ability to maintain our focus at work suffers. We make poor decisions and that can be costly in so many ways!
Time is precious.
Make sure you treat it as you would any other resource. Measure what you have. Plan for its use.
Do what it takes to make sure you have given your children a legacy of time well spent.
As it is said, children learn what they live.