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ChangingMinds Blog! > Blog Archive > 09-Mar-14

Sunday 09-March-14

The Value of Time

How much do you value time? Do you love every minute, carefully? Do you chew every mouthful like a tasty meal? Do you see infinity in a grain of sand? Or does time flash by and you wonder where it is gone. Mostly likely you are too busy to notice the passing moments, let alone days and years.

A curious question around this is that young people seem to value their time less, while older people value it more and a dying person grasps desperately for one more moment. 'Where did the time go?' is a common and perplexed complaint that even the young may experience.

Here's a simple formula that can help explain this:

Let V = value I place on my life
Let N = the number of years I think I've got left
Let y = the value I place on the coming year
Let d = the value I place on today

Then y = V/N
And d = y/365 = V/(N*365)

This shows how we spread value outwards. Money is similar. If I have a million dollars, then I care little about ten dollars. But if I have only twenty dollars, then ten dollars is represents half my total wealth and I value it greatly.

(For the technical, time appreciation probably has an exponential basis as we discount future value. This model uses an inverse law for which value drops off rapidly in the same way as a negative exponential curve).

To appreciate each day (and dollar) more, change your formula. Value your life more. The time of your life is all you've got to have the time of your life. Spend each moment as if you were a poor person spending their money.

So when you think about time:

• Look back with appreciation, not regret.
• Look forward with excitement, not fear.
• And look at now with wonder and gratitude.