If you stumbled onto $1,000,000 dollars, what would you do with it? My inclination would be a few frivolous purchases such as a new BMW and a nice condo in downtown Louisville, but I’d like to think I would invest the majority of it in order to receive a return at a later date. Now, I’m no expert on investing money or buying stock, but I do know the general premise is that one should invest with the goal of getting more money back than they originally put in. Does this happen 100% of the time? No, I’d imagine not. But it is the goal. I believe, we should invest our energy and time the same way. We invest ourselves into a lot of different aspects of life; we invest ourselves into careers, hobbies, romantic relationships, friendships, books, and so much more. Life is the constant evaluation and disbursement of our time and energy into our investments. If you are anything like me, your mind is in a constant tug of war in how to invest your time. No matter which priority wins in these tug contests it always feels like a loss. Why? I think this breaks down to two equally important problems. One being the over-investment into situations that are not adding value to my life and the other being under-investment into things that have real potential to add value to my character. To remedy this I have personally begun to scrutinize every aspect of my life to find the things that are just draining me and not giving anything back. These “drains” exist everywhere. They exist in dead end jobs where there isn’t a mole of passion behind your duties. They exist in fair weather friendships. And they often exist in places where you give yourself false hope that circumstances will change and that person or thing will be able to give back to you in some way. However, you can only control your investment. The most valuable remedy I found for bringing myself into the right investments was to cut the tethers on the “drains.” You are just as aware as I am of the things in your life that do not deserve your time, effort, and energy. These things can be so hard to part with but doing so can truly provide you with freedom like you’ve never felt before. Once you have stopped feeding the drains you now have more time and energy to focus in on your under-investments. These are the areas in your life that have the potential to distinctly contribute to your betterment as a person. For instance, I got into a great routine in the spring of this year of going to the gym 3 times a week. During the time that I kept up with this routine I noticed a distinct change in not only my physical health but my emotional state and mental well-being. Dedicating time to that activity was time well spent. An investment with immediate return. I went to the gym, my body felt better and looked better. In another case I can consider how engaging myself musically on a daily basis improves my abilities as a musician. This is a peculiar case though. Practicing does not always make perfect. Practicing tends to make perfect. So while investing your time and energy into the right things is important, it is also just as important to invest your time and energy into those things the right way. There have been days that I practice and seem to feel stuck in a rut. this is where evaluating your investments is imperative! You must be willing to engage yourself in the dialogue of now. Not tomorrow, and not yesterday. Let go of lost time and energy that you threw into bad investments. Stop reframing the past to fit your expectation of the future. Accept the truth and move past it. You call the shots on the portfolio of your time. How will you delegate it?