Appreciating the Benefits of Time

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author/source: Kelly Shanahan

Is-it-worth-your-timeExponential Growth - Is it worth your time? 

Does time bring you value?  It depends on the context. 

As we age, and as time passes, personal growth or evolution is a body of work that expands and grows with each event of your life - a collection of adventures, so to speak.  Is your journey a labor of love, a means to an end, or a movie that's entertaining, but not engaging?  "Every experience brings you pieces to the fullness of your life, including the disruptions, the divorce, the job loss, illness or trauma; even the moments of crisis or pain offer the opportunity to explore this life-changing question, Is this worth my time?"- Oprah 

Time can be your worst enemy or our greatest ally.  Again, it depends on the context.  Exponential growth works best with time; even if you start with a small amount; since exponential growth increases at a rate proportional to the amount already present, simply put, the pile gets bigger, the more you add to it.  So, as life unfolds and we embrace life's events,   good and bad, opening our hearts and minds to learning, that wealth of knowledge grows exponentially, adding all those moments together, year upon year, our wisdom evolves and with that, our awareness.  If you wait to tune in, not learning from the lessons the universe is offering to you, time can be your enemy, and the work far more demanding.  Do you ever notice you keep having the same experience?  Same thing, different day?  Maybe its worth the time to pause, take a breath and consider that this experience may be happening so you can grow IS worth your time and attention.  Like most of life's events, they're happening for you, not to you. 

daily-units-of-timeIn its most familiar form, exponential growth is realized when the rate of change—the change per unit of time is proportional to the current value, like compounding interest, where the unit of time is daily, the value builds upon the previous day's value at a consistent rate.  For example, if at age 25, you started to put away $5,000 a year for 10 years, then let that grow (compounding daily from the moment you start saving) and for an additional 30 years until age 65 at 10%  (the rate of change, annually), you would have $1.5 million by the time you are 65  - Total investment $50,000.  However, if you wait, and start saving at a later age/date, say at age 35, using the same rate of change (10% annually) you have to put away, $8,453 for 30 years to achieve the same result, Total investment $253,590.  If you wait even longer and don't start saving until 45, you must put away $24,277 for 20 years, Total Investment of $485,540 at 10% for 20 years will get you $1.5 million.    
Wealth-measured-in-wisdomPersonal wealth measured in wisdom or currency collectively builds similarly, both culminate into something far greater via the principals of exponential growth, better known as compounding interest.  The lessons served up to you by the universe, (if received and learned) follow the same principle namely, if you keep learning and building upon the last experience, your ability to be present in the here and now and appreciate the fullness of life (not being distracted by the past or the present) will be yours.  Likewise, building monetary wealth is yours by saving, sooner rather than later, and as time passes and growth prevails (compounding interest), this too will culminate into something far greater than its original value. 

Personal and financial wealth is yours with attention, focus, and awareness (all of which take practice) -  supported by the passage of time.  Exponential growth is a POWERFUL Law of Nature.