“Don’t tell me what you value, show me your budget, and I’ll tell you what you value.”
Joe Biden (President of the United States, 2022)
I want to preface this article with an interesting and relevant tale which tells us how an old trader went about resource allocation along with setting the tone for the article. The following tale is set in a town in rural Asia in the days of horse-drawn carriages.
The ‘miserly’ trader
There lived a rice trader who had the reputation of being very generous. One day, an acquaintance visited the trader’s workplace to invite the trader to an important wedding in town. In those days, the ‘milling of rice1‘ was done manually and it was common for one or two grains of rice to get squandered on the ground when this process was carried out. Whenever this happened, the trader personally picked up these squandered grains from the ground and poured them back into the basket.
The acquaintance was surprised to see this. “This man is so miserly! He can’t even bear the idea of a grain or two being wasted. How generous can someone like this be?” he thought as he left the trader’s house.
On the day of the wedding, the town witnessed heavy rains. It was just too slippery; water gushed along the roads, so it was challenging for the horses/oxen to walk. The trader waited for a while and realized that he wouldn’t make the wedding in time if he didn’t leave immediately. And so, knowing very well that most of the rice would be washed away or crushed, he ordered his servants to heave hundreds of bags of rice onto the road. (It is said that so many bags were used end-to-end that the entire path was covered with them.) The rice in the bags soaked up the water and slowed the gushing, and the carriages were successfully pulled atop the bags. The trader reached the wedding in time.
The scarcity of resources
I confess that the tale is a little over-the-top (pun not intended) and extreme. However, it imparts a crucial moral, especially for today’s generation. It is this – ‘Do not waste resources when unnecessary, however meager they might be and be willing to spend resources on what is necessary.‘
You’d be surprised at how often people overlook this, as evident as this may seem.
RESOURCES ARE LIMITED (I vividly recall my Economics prof. emphasizing this.) Be it time, money, energy, attention, etc., no one, and I repeat, NO ONE has unlimited resources. If you are on a tight budget, maybe it’s a good idea to focus on where your resources shouldn’t be going rather than where they should be.
The following are four critical resources people waste inadvertently:
1.) Money
Many schools teach you how to manage your homework, but few teach you how to manage your money and time. The secret to managing money is not more money.
Remember, more money can’t fix bad spending habits.
2.) Time
So much has been written on this topic that I don’t want to discuss how people misuse this crucial resource. (You can read more about some of this here.)
It isn’t a fluke that EVERYONE has 24 hours, but some people manage to get more done.
3.) Energy
This is perhaps the least talked about resource of the four. (By energy, I don’t mean some mystical aura surrounding you like a magnetic field.)
Energy is the money equivalent of what you pay your body and mind.
4.) Attention
“The phrase ‘pay attention‘ is apt: you dispose of a limited budget of attention that you can allocate to activities, and if you try to go beyond your budget, you will fail. It is the mark of effortful activities that they interfere with each other, which is why it is difficult or impossible to conduct several at once.”
Daniel Kahneman (Nobel prize winner); Thinking, fast and slow.
We live in a super stimulating world – direct your attention carefully. For example, pay attention to what people do rather than what they say. Pay attention to the small things in life, etc.
The four sections will be explored in greater depth in future articles.
Conclusion
“Do not save what is left after spending, but spend what is left after saving.”
Warren Buffet.
Recently, I came across a tweet reminding me how limited/crucial our resources are.
Time does fly, and if we are not careful, it will pass us by quicker than Mike Tyson landing a knockout punch.
Computers have Operating Systems to allocate resources efficiently. Likewise, one must develop effective strategies to play the cards they are dealt. Revisit yours and see if you can optimize them.
All said and done, I acknowledge that what’s ‘necessary’ for you might not be ‘necessary’ for someone else and vice-versa. Only you can answer that, which is fitting, for it is you who will face the consequences of your actions.
The point is that in a world where distractions are sneakier than uninvited guests, keeping track of where you are spending your resources is crucial. Resources are limited. Be willing to spend them when necessary and think thrice before spending them when unnecessary. If you are on a tight budget, maybe it’s a good idea to focus on where your resources shouldn’t be going rather than where they should be.
The line separating what you need and what you want is a fine one. Cross it consciously and with foresight.
Amongst the many resources at your disposal – time, money, energy and attention are of utmost value. (**Small pause.) Spend them wisely.
If you have ANY comments, criticism or recommendations, hit me up at reachthetaciturn@gmail.com or leave your comments below. I’d love to hear from you.
Until next time, The Taciturn.
You can also follow me on twitter @philosophy_mail.
