The Investment of Our Consideration - Life's Gamble

It’s my theory that reciprocity is the foundation for trust and thus happiness…However, trust cannot be developed without a further investment of our consideration.

Investing is a funny concept. In order to understand it you must look at the reason people do it.

invest (v.) -
1. To spend or devote for future advantage or benefit
2. To devote morally or psychologically, as to a purpose; commit

Investing is meant to produce a larger return. You put something in, and hopefully (if it was a good investing decision) you pull out more than you originally committed. In the financial market these returns are a result of either favorable interest rates (that increase the value of your consideration over time), profitable dividends (that pay you back in consideration periodically), or from a price (value) increase of the investment in question that allow you to sell it for more than it was originally worth.

The investment of consideration is no different... we've discussed time and honesty... I think it's time we discuss the consideration of energy...

energy (n.)
1. Exertion of vigor or power
2. Vitality and intensity of expression

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SKIP TO THE SKIP MARKER IF YOU ARE NOT A SCIENCE PERSON
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Energy, as a scientific term, is what allows all matter to exist. Everything has some type of energy - potential, kinetic, radiant, radioactive. This energy is used to affect the state and space of other matter, however it is never dispensed. The Conservation of Energy Principle (an accepted fact in physics and chemistry) states that energy is neither created nor destroyed, but rather it changes its characteristics. So if you're running, and you stop, your energy isn't lost, it is converted from kinetic (moving energy) into radiant (in the form of heat) and potential (because your energy can be converted to another form at your will). . . what ever energy you no longer have after the remainder is converted back to potential energy is the energy spent... if you factor that with how far you ran (distance), you have a component called WORK.

For the sake of understanding this term better, I will add a synonym to this definition: effort. Our energy/effort is seen as a form of our consideration towards others.

In terms of investing, we give our time and energy to others in hopes that we get it back. The truth is that once the energy is converted from potential to whatever you use it isn't destroyed, it is converted and subsequently lost... you don't get it back. This matches the theory from earlier that our consideration has no guarantee of reciprocation. Thus we must apply our energy towards things/people that we HOPE will get us a return on our investment. If not, at the end of the day we hope that we have at least accomplished achieved some form of WORK, in that we HOPE our energy got us somewhere new.
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SKIP TO HERE.... YUP, YOU ARE INTELLECTUALLY LAZY!
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We HOPE that our investment of time and energy would increase the value of our potential energy over time... however, in interpersonal relationships banks do not set our interest rates, interpersonal chemistry determines that. Interest (in itself a form of consideration) must be mutual between parties in order for its rate of increase to be favorable, otherwise you actually run the risk of a negative interest rate - becoming disinterested or turned off. By this time you have to decide if your time and energy spent is a sunk cost or just a part of the investing cycle where you might lose some before you gain some back. This is why the early stages of investing are always treated with a relaxed standard ... it is expected that favorable return will not come in the short-term (however sometimes it can).

We HOPE that our investment of time and energy would pay us in dividends... this is where reciprocity is achieved. In financial investing, an acceptable dividend is what ensures you do not sell your stock... in terms of consideration I guess the most recognizable example/synonym for dividend would be "gift". This gift is unsolicited, however it is often times expected. Most people don't go a long time in dealing with others without receiving some type of gift... Don't get me wrong, this isn't necessarily something that is of monetary value, usually the gift is an unexpected increase of consideration returned (i.e. a nice conversation, a favor, a compliment, etc.)... a nice gesture can go a long way in increasing one's trust/faith in their investments.

In financing, sometimes the dividends are never disbursed, but rather reinvested into the stock in hopes that it will increase its value... YUP... this is when the person you are investing consideration in is so busy that they are hoping to be more worth your consideration in the long run. They seem like they are worth your time and energy but you can never really know until you evaluate what they are worth to you. If they are legit, their busy-ness will result in them being successful in some right, and you will/should respect that considering you've waited for them to get there (and thus paid time consideration). But if they don't ever get right, and you don't see the dividends you want to see, and the interest rate is falling.... it might be time to sell your stock.

Like with any investment, unless you are just completely business minded, it is hard to let go of things that you placed value into, especially consideration value. You will never get the time, energy, effort, interest spent, etc. back... what you get in return for selling/dropping the person in question is the freedom of your consideration to be spent elsewhere.

This is where the financial aspect of the analogy fizzles, but you should get the point... in short...
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There is never a guarantee of return of consideration from others, thus any time you spend it, it is considered an investment. Our investments have to be monitored by us otherwise we don't know if it is working for us or against us... whether it's a good decision or a bad decision... whether you'll receive a return or mark it as a sunk cost. The point is to use your own standards to decide what it is to you. For some, they would prefer to not receive dividends/gifts at all, others want frequent dividends... Some want high interest rates, and some are so invested that they don't care what the value seems like to others, they just want to own the stock.

The only person who can decide if your consideration is well spent or not, is YOU... not your friends, your family, or your peers... because their realities/perceptions of the status quo are different than yours, remember? Ultimately what it requires is that you know and understand yourself in order to know what is good for you.... and when in doubt because you really don't know, rely on hope/faith that you are either right or will find the right path.

The consideration of hope next time...