Opportunity Cost

Opportunity cost. 

Opportunity cost is an economics term that has to do with the loss of potential gain based on choices made. Basically, it refers to the cost of a missed opportunity. As I thought about the term, I considered it more in relation to time than money; especially when it came to squandered time. You see, I'm bad about this. I have missed many opportunities that would have benefited me because of my use of time. 

Unfortunately, this resource can never be refunded. Sometimes we willingly trade our time for things of relatively little importance. How many hours of my life have been spent watching television? Has my life really been improved watching the train wreck lives of the"housewives?" Often times our work has taken control over our time. We have allowed ourselves to be overly stressed, overly worked, and overly fatigued thinking somehow the trade off would be worth it in the future. Unfortunately, we fail to realize how easily we can be replaced when we leave our places of employment.

We convince ourselves that the greater our financial gain the better our lives will be. We willingly trade our time for this monetary gain. However, people who make more are not necessarily happier than their counterparts. There comes a tipping point where financial gain does not contribute any more significantly to happiness. More is not necessarily better. In choosing your opportunities be aware of your potential losses based on your missed opportunities of nonrenewable time.