VALUE
What is value? simply put, value is something of worth or a positive output that improves the quality of someone’s life. You create value when you place an effort into something worthwhile whatever it may be. (hobbies, work, academics etc). Value is also the flip side of our modern-day monetary currency. Let’s say you go to the store to get some goods; the amount of money you pay for those goods should be proportionate to the amount of value those goods are adding to your life (whether in the quantity of the goods or their quality). You cannot go to the store to get food and pay an amount of money only to be given a sac of sand in return; you would be outraged and rightly so because that sac of sand is not adding the value that you’re currently seeking.
In an ideal community, people’s careers are steered by the amount of value they create in their workplaces. Hence, hard workers get promoted while lazy workers get the boot when their company gets fed up with their unproductive ways. Value creation is therefore key to anyone who dreams of having even a sliver of success. There are many ways to create value, one of the surest ways to succeed is by making someone’s life easier. All the most successful people have used this concept. Think of how inconvenient life would be if something as mundane as a water pipe never existed to bring water to your apartment. This is something you rarely give your time of day in thought if ever and yet it is so convenient for you that life wouldn’t be quite the same without it.
WHY BOTHER TALKING ABOUT VALUE?
Anyone whose aim is any form of success( personal or professional) will ultimately come to this conclusion, “For me to be successful, I will have to create value (for others). On the flip side of the same coin of value creation is value derivation. This is as important as value creation in one’s quest for success. It is a guide of sorts, showing one which path one should or should not tread. In everyday decisions, we barely think before we act. This unknowingly dooms us to a life of mediocrity. Our actions more often than not tend to lean toward immediate comfort when we do not critically analyse our position, make decisions and take action according. What to do?
VALUE DERIVATION AND DECISION MAKING.
I am going to share with you a simple tool that I use to make difficult decisions and beat laziness and procrastination. I am a medical student and at the beginning of this semester, I became a hospital externe. This means from now on, I am obligated to be at the hospital doing actual medical practice every weekday from morning to midday. It is pretty interesting I have to say. At 2:30 pm, classes commence at the faculty. courses are not compulsory so one can stay back if one so wishes. After returning from the hospital, I am fairly tired, so I eat and nap. Later on, I head for class with my friends. I could stay back if I so chose, and in the past when I did not have this tool handy, I often did.
The major dilemma comes after classes. After the evening rest time, during the time I am supposed to be studying, I face major resistance. There are so many excuses not to study at that moment. That latest anime episode keeps calling, The bed seems to have grown really strong arms and is holding me in place, and the little voice in my head keeps telling me to postpone to the following day as there’s not much to do anyway. Deep down I know what I have to do. So, how do I stand my ground and overcome my lazy self? I ask myself this very valuable question every time: WHAT VALUE AM I DERIVING FROM THIS ACTIVITY I AM ABOUT TO INDULGE IN?
Believe it or not, even the vainest things add a certain level of “value” in someone’s life one way or the other (otherwise these things would not be in existence). Asking this question is not the same as looking for excuses to indulge in unproductive behaviour; if one is looking for an excuse in that regard, one is sure to find plenty. This question is meant to give one clarity of mind to analyze situations critically and logically. It is possible, even likely that one might find some advantage in indulging in unproductive behaviour at that moment, however, when one weighs that advantage against the value one could attain long-term upon being productive, the answer becomes a no-brainer.
Watching anime while lying in bed may be able to offer me the perceived value of comfort and entertainment immediately, but the long-term effects of a decision such as that are devastating. work will accumulate, as exams draw nearer, panic ensues, and stress and anxiety follow not long after. With these afflictions plaguing one’s brain, concentration levels drop to almost nonexistent and panic studying avails very little to nothing. Having looked at those few long-term effects (for they are too many to be exhausted here), the temporary “value” of lying in bed while watching anime does not look so appealing anymore.
After that train of thought, I push down all those urges and force myself off the bed. I get through my two hours of studying, after which I realise how unreasonable I was being with myself because the thing I dreaded turned out to be not as difficult as my mind had imagined it would be after all. And now, lying in bed after the work is done is all that more satisfying.
Procrastination is hard to beat for most of us, I am not a perfect example as I do not always get it right as well. However, this simple exercise has been able to have an immense impact as I now do stuff that seemed like mount Everest before me in times past. This exercise allows you to temporarily peer into your future and see the trajectory of your life based on which decision you are about to make. It is a simple guide to making worthwhile decisions and staying productive when your body doesn’t want to. Simply put, it is a discipline builder.
Thank you for your time, I certainly do hope that this article added some value to your life. Subscribe to get weekly updates, share to add value to someone’s life today and let me know your thoughts and questions in the comments. Have a beautiful and productive week!1
🙌🏼This is amazing, and the fact that it’s practical makes it even better 🙌🏼👏🏽 I will try this out for sure 💪🏼