Opportunity Cost in Everyday Life: What Are You Missing Out On?
When I’m considering making a personal change in my life – everything from shifting my diet to committing to a large project – I tend to think about what I feel I’m currently missing out on.
This might mean trying to put words to my longing, my desire, and my dreams for the future, but it also might be even simpler: what opportunities am I currently forgoing if I don't make this change?
In other words:
What is the opportunity cost of the way things are currently being done?
This concept of opportunity cost comes up again and again as a parent to young kiddos.
If our 5 and 7-year-old opt to play outside for an hour, they can get upset when a movie is no longer an option. Or when they build Legos separately for an hour, they can become absolutely irate they don’t have more time to play together before dinner. They tend to struggle with the idea that choosing one thing means another must go unchosen.
And on the parenting side, a similar dilemma pops up regularly: do we clean the kitchen or have an impromptu family dance party? Do we scroll social media behind closed doors or grab a book and read with the kids? What has more value for us right now: falling asleep cuddling one of the kids or having time to decompress together and connect at the end of a long day?
Every choice we make comes with opportunity cost.
I think there’s a powerful practice here that I’d like to invite you into this week:
Notice anytime you’re feeling uncomfortable with your current reality (”I’m tired of feeling like I’m not doing anything!”)
Name the opportunity cost of your current reality (”I’m spending so much time ___________ and I feel like I could be using that time to _________.”)
When we practice noticing and naming our opportunity costs, we can better discern the actions we want to take.
