Investing time in development: an archived Project Mindset post, originally published in 2021. Dates and roles reflect the original publication.
Are You Investing Enough Time in Your Development?
If you do not know where you want to be in five years, you are already there
Is that enough for you? Are you where you want to be in mindset, health, work, knowledge, expertise and finances?
You can say everything is fine. But I believe progress matters. Looking back two years, I am even embarrassed by some reactions, words and things I had yet to learn. If you insist your personality five years ago was as perfect as today, perhaps you have not developed.
I do not mean that negatively. I try daily to be my best self, as discussed in episode 11, and am reasonably happy. Still, in five years I want to have progressed in mindset, happiness, skills, health, money and fitness. Otherwise, either I am already the ultimate standard — definitely not — or I have invested too little.
What does investing mean? Mainly time, and sometimes money.
Micro-actions versus macro-results
An hour of exercise today does not alone determine today’s fitness. My fitness reflects years of training and time invested. One session does not make me fit; missing one does not make me unfit. Micro-actions matter, but results emerge over time.
I see training as a regular investment needed to stay fit. It costs time.
Mindset works similarly for me. Daily routines, especially gratitude, train my attention towards positive things, happiness and mindfulness. Missing once changes little. But I have sometimes let one missed day become a week, and I notice the difference in how happy I feel.
Investing time in relationships
Calling emotional subjects an investment may sound unemotional. I recently described parenting and friendship this way. To me, investment means putting time or money into something today for a positive future benefit.
If I spend quality time — emphasis on quality — on my relationship, children and friendships, I naturally want those relationships to remain positive.
A friend who repeatedly asks to meet will eventually stop asking if I always refuse. If the friendship matters, I need to make time, however busy I am. That is why I see many things as investments of time.
Listen to episode 32 for more, including some complications of this perspective. Episode 11 is also linked below.
Mindset is everything!
More in the Project Mindset archive (German) and the Reza Mehman Podcast.
