Growing up, I knew that things took time to develop. I think it first came to me when I first came in contact with Sega Genesis playing a video game titled “Phantasy Star IV”. As the game title suggests, it was a sci-fi type of video game that required you to venture the world, while leveling up and commit to the video game’s story line. Watching my older brothers reach higher levels and go through the game further than I did (I did mention they were older!), I knew that to be successful at the said video game, time was a key factor.
So what can we learn from such video games? I don’t think people appreciate how important time is. The mindset is often “now or never”. You can probably picture a spoiled kid by the latter mindset. You aren’t wrong either.
Time is only part of the long game, for sure. There are other factors that greatly define your success in the particular subject. In no particular order: work ethic, perseverance, collaboration, open-mindedness, respect, reliability, and many other factors. The difference between the latter factors and time, is that you cannot control time. You have to “wait” it out — which is annoying to all.
Let’s look at some areas in our lives where time is not respected well enough.
Your investments in the stock market
OK, I’m not talking about penny stocks, or no-namer companies you decided to gamble on. I’m talking about most Fortune 500 companies. I’m talking about legitimate companies that our investments portfolios usually include. Whether you are invested in Apple Inc. or a Vanguard Index Fund ($VOO, for example), you have a share in a publicly traded market company.
Let me direct your attention to figure 1 below. This chart represents Apple’s yearly total revenue segments in the past 10 years. Taking the most valuable company in the world (market capitalization wise) is probably not the best indicator of my point, but the point remains: give your investment enough time, and it will flourish. I can already hear the Wall Street keyboard warriors “Higher revenues do not equate to higher stock prices!” They’re right, but that isn’t the point. The point is given enough time, the company you invested in will most likely increase its revenues, and thus profits will increase (assuming the company knows what the f*ck it is doing!)
Relationships
It’s baffling to me how many people do not allow time to prosper in professional or personal relationships. It’s funny because when you start a new job, you generally do not share your life with your new work colleagues. It takes weeks or months before you start sharing pieces of your life with your colleagues at work. However, for some reason, people don’t hold the same expectations in personal relationships.
Met a woman on Tinder last night and you’re already getting them to meet your parents? This is you not allowing time in your relationship. Just like how plants need time to grow (under the right environment, of course), you must let the relationship endure time.
Everyone runs at their own pace. That means sometimes, you have to permit people to take more or less time than your expectations.
Your career trajectory
Honestly, this one I struggle the most with. Once I graduated from University, I thought the world was ready to welcome me to its workforce and allow me to prosper. It did allow me to prosper, but no one is expecting you. You must make a name for yourself, and that does require you to persevere over time.
You will have a job that is low-moderate paying. You will be considered “junior”. You’ll need to put in years of experience before entering the “intermediate” stage, in which you will eventually reach the “senior” level. This takes time. You can’t force your way to the latter level because that’s just not how organizations handle their employees’ careers trajectories.
Work hard, network well, and be respectful with people and information. However, give yourself time to flourish in the organization. Give people time to notice you, and to eventually provide you with your needs.
Your summer body
Summer is approaching. You want to be in shape for your swimwear once you hit the beach on weekends. You’re ready to put in the work, gym after work every day — no excuse. However, there’s just one problem. You haven’t been at the gym since Fall. Well, you don’t respect time enough. You can’t just make up for the time lost without taking care of your body.
Take care of your health and physique over time. This isn’t a spring, it’s a marathon.
In theory, whether you are investing in the stock market or learning a particular new skill (C# programming, for example), time is the key factor. Once you accept the latter, patience will no longer be one of your flaws. You’ll be less hard on yourself, and you won’t set false expectations. Time is present in everything in our lives.
Let me know if you can cook a chicken leg without time.
Life is rich of time.
