In simple terms, opportunity cost is defined as what you give up for something else. It could be an exchange of your money such as $4.95 for a latte, spending 3 hours of time to scroll through trending Insta pics, or even trading 40 hours of time each week for a regular paycheck…but there’s SO much more to this that affects our mental, emotional and spiritual balance and here’s why you need to start considering it’s impact on your life.
Take the latte.
You wake up late and need caffeine. You know it will take too long to make the coffee and you have to rush out the door to get to work. Somehow, you find the time to stop at Starbucks, wait in line with everyone else who’s ‘too rushed’ to make their own coffee, and pick up your favorite Triple Mocha Quad Latte with extra whip on your way to work.
While you think you saved time by having someone else make the coffee for you, you also spent time waiting in line to order, waiting at the bar for your coffee to be made and haven’t even accounted for the drive time to Starbucks as well as the time it took to get out of the busy parking lot.
While you tend to focus solely on the money you spent and the value of the coffee being just the way you like it, you have not added in the extra time and energy it took to participate in this exchange…or the opportunities you potentially lost out on in the process.
When you begin to add up the money, the time, the emotional investments, and the potential missed chances to do something great…is it really worth the trade? Maybe.
Let’s go a bit further…
You have a 9–5 job. 40 hours a week are hours traded for dollars, hours spent on a job you may not like, in a place that is not conducive to growth. While you’re at work, you are dreaming of your passion, maybe your kids. You may spend time worrying about trying to stretch your finances to pay off debt or how you will save more for your kids’ college funds.
With 40 hours a week, 70–80% of that time spent in stress, you’re bound to be drained at the end of each day. So what do you do?
The average American watches almost 5 hours of television PER DAY :/
If this describes you, you’re now at 75 hours a day being spent in time and energy on doing NOTHING toward your passion or purpose…you are trading precious hours and brain energy on being numb. Make sense.
Choices, conscious or unconscious, are stacking up either for you or against you. If you are not present to what you are trading in the moment for the experience, you are bound to ‘over spend’ in areas you really have little to give.
These examples of choice, and the resulting unconscious impacts, are made in the “fog of war” (decisions made under stress). Over time, these hidden sacrifices lead to feeling overworked, undervalued, and overhwelmed.
If you want to run, you have to learn to cut back on the mysterious opportunity costs, and maximize your spending in areas that actually SERVE you and your goals.
To truly take control of your life, you must get a grip on present moment awareness like this:
- OWN YOUR SHIT- that’s right, own it! That means you have to be honest enough with yourself to dissect your actions from the ground up and take ownership for how you are showing up.
- BE REAL- stop trying to live life according to the way you were told it had to be. Figure out what YOU want from life and consider how you are not doing what resonates with you most.
- BE HERE NOW- notice how each component of the experience is being affected by your choice. Notice where things are being thrown off balance and how you are sacrificing one for the other.
- COURSE CORRECT- be open in the moment of choice to decide on something that would be more supportive of your goal rather than simply choosing your usual. Being safe doesn’t always mean effective or efficient.
If you wonder why you can’t seem to gain balance in your life, odds are, you are probably doing the above.
With one choice, the scales may turn in favor of quick fixes and immediate gratification. With another, you may find ease and grace but zero fulfillment as you have minimal challenges and maximum comfort. And yet another will grant you long term success but come at a price of uncomfortability for a few years while you are growing a business or working your way through a goal.
Instead of trying to balance out your life, consider opportunity cost of the things you consistently choose in life. Luck is therefore not a chance game, rather, it’s a symptom of commitment and diligence; continually honing in our attention and efforts with our highest potential.
The lesson is this: if you really want to grow or create the life you desire, you have to be willing to change your habitual choices. Choosing higher efficiency actions now will develop your strength and clarity to make increasingly greater, more powerful choices in the future.
