Do not splurge; invest
Splurging is sacrificing future for the now.
Investing is sacrificing now for the future.
Do not splurge; invest.
This piece is a cousin of last week’s essay, creating vs. consuming. That one was more about mental orientation. This one is more about taking a long-term view.
A person can invest in many things: stocks, people, books, real estate.
The best thing a person can invest in is him or herself. That is because we own 100% of ourselves, and are stuck with this person forever. There is nothing more dangerous than a person who is bullish on themselves and tempered by humility.
There are three buckets of ways to invest in oneself—your how, what and who. “How” is a how a person operates—generous or stingy; kind or nasty; curious or self-absorbed? “What” is what a person knows (knowledge) and what they can do (skills). “Who” is a person’s relationships—with family, friends, colleagues, God.
“Sacrificing” gets a bad rap. Investing is sacrificing now for the future. It sounds painful. Indeed, it can be. That’s why I never learned piano. Though not for lack of trying. My Mom, a pianist herself, tried teaching me. We did scales together, so many scales. When that didn’t work (I couldn’t keep focus), she brought me to teachers. We tried so many teachers. Practice, practice, they would say. But the rote assignments were mind-numbing. I couldn’t do it. That is why I have tremendous respect for musicians, athletes, and others who spend thousands of hours practicing their craft with rote consistency. (Writing requires practice, that’s why I’m doing it every day, but it’s not rote, at least not at this stage, once you know that nouns come after adjectives.)
Sacrifice should be enjoyable if only because it’s rewarding. Not frivolous fun, but deep satisfaction. A form of simcha, not oneg. That is not to say it’s not hard. But doing hard stuff leads to pride, and self-respect.
In contrast, the feeling associated with splurging (sacrificing the future) is Guilt. Shame, too, in the long-term. Like, the next morning. Sure, dopamine hits feel good in the moment, hence their attraction, but they fade fast. “Gradually, then suddenly,” to quote Hemingway.
We all know examples of each, investing and splurging. But sometimes it is not clear. For example, going with a friend for ice cream might be either. You are investing in the friendship, but splurging on ice cream. Many situations are like this, with tradeoffs. Buying lunch out saves me an hour of cooking time. I am “splurging” (spending) money to “invest” (work, write, shmooze) with my time. These are decisions we need to make.
You might ask: if splurging is sacrificing the future for the now, and investing is sacrificing the now for the future, why should a person invest?
Simple: because the future is longer than the now. ROI is everything.