One of the toughest elements in dealing with life is coming to terms with the very real and ever present “Cost of Living” … more particularly, with the investment required to prepare adequately… never mind MORE than adequately … for the future.
It’s also one of the toughest concepts to convey to unsuspecting neophytes.
Here’s the problem: The “future” is so far from the “present”, and the present so very “present”. And as long as the future stays in the future, the present should simply be given its due as the “present” … as it always has.
Ain’t life grand!
And, besides, there’s so much MORE of the future available to deal with the future [Procrastinators Anonymous, take note!] than there is of the present to deal with the present.
DUH!
Moreover, we get this admonition from Biblical teaching:
“Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself.” Matthew 6:34 (KJV)
Wow! So this makes life appear to be very much akin to “Just-In-Time” manufacturing: Whatever you need in the future, you will simply deal with in the future … so one need not stockpile stuff ahead of time, particularly stuff (like algebra?) that you may or may not ever need.
Toyota uses just-in-time inventory controls as part of its business model. Toyota sends off orders for parts only when it receives new orders from customers. The company started this method in the 1970s, and it took more than 15 years to perfect. Several elements of just-in-time manufacturing need to occur for Toyota to succeed. The company must have steady production, high-quality workmanship, no machine breakdowns at the plant, reliable suppliers and quick ways to assemble machines that put together vehicles. http://www.investopedia.com/terms/j/jit.asp#ixzz4JIH1Oep2
But one doesn’t have to read very far between the lines on Just-In-Time manufacturing to understand that, for JIT to happen “just in time”, a whole lot of ground work, preparation and infrastructure has-to-already-have-been-DONE. [One might ask: Who’s stockpiling the tools, skills and raw materials for filling all those “Just-In-Time” orders?]
And so it is in life! There’s got to be an awful lot happening behind the curtain to make the show go on!!
Consider, further, the fact that the Biblical teaching contains a very ominous and foreboding afterthought:
“Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.”
Whoa!
Contrary to first impressions and our own inclinations, it seems that anything one could do to minimize “the evil thereof” might be prudent!
But, for those who finally and firmly understand the concept of preparing for the future, the “understanding” doesn’t make it any easier.
First, there’s the required core time and effort trade-off:
How much of today do I give up
in order to prepare for a more prosperous future?
It’s really a question of indulgence and immediate versus delayed gratification:
How much do I invest in MAKING life easy
instead of simply TAKING life easy?
One is tempted – or DRIVEN – also to ask: “When is it MY TURN?”
[One answer may be that
“It’s YOUR turn NOW to hunker down
and get with the program!”]
While the “Cost of Living” is considerable – and the cost of “Living WELL can seem, at times, imponderable or insufferable – due-diligence investments generally pay off with significant dividends. Where possible or necessary, become a Ninja Warrior on stuff that needs to be done! And find PURPOSE and MEANING in even the most mundane, even if it’s simply to keep you from tripping over things on your way to more purposeful and more meaningful pursuits. The most satisfied and fulfilled are those who can find joy in the simplest things.
“Before I was a boxer, I was a dishwasher. I was great! I was the best dishwasher ever. I’d get through doing my job; my dishes were so nice and clean … so I’d mop the floors. I out-mopped the floor mopper. Then I would help the cooks peel the potatoes. I was the best there was.” Future Schmoocher George Foreman
And don’t miss the thrill of ultimately overcoming the odds! Quartermaster
