Was It Worth It?

Was It Worth It?

 

Once again the theme of youth and impulsiveness comes up.  Looking back, were you ever there?  Have you ever revisited some of your actions and wondered?  The attitude when I was younger was that time heals all things or in this case, time can be a forgiving factor.

 

In the case of real estate for example, if you pay too much for a property, but yet you hang on to it for fifteen or twenty years, you will still come out ahead.  At least prior to 2008 it was an acceptable (historical) fact that property appreciates through time.  At present properties haven’t recovered the value they were at prior to the real estate bubble crash of 2008.  Another fun fact is that once an event occurs the first time it’s many times more likely to happen again.  I am making reference to the possibility that the real estate market is more likely to make corrections in the future, as it did recently.  You could call that the effect of waiting for the other shoe to drop (again/maybe).

 

Playing the odds with the forgiveness of time seems to or should fade as we get older.  At an older age, whether it be a romance, an investment, or even a career move the time factor doesn’t allow us ample recovery time.  On the other side of the coin, some decisions are made without regard to outcome.  What I mean is that in some instances we are so committed to an action that the outcome good or bad is not the measure of success or failure.  Personally, I don’t have any such examples in my life’s history.  To date all my decisions are carefully calculated for desired outcome.  I have been known to have regrets for actions not taken but "C'est la vie" (French for “That’s Life”).

 

What brought this subject to mind is that, of all things, Arnold Schwarzenegger ran for Governor of California at a time where he was at the peak of his acting career.  During his run as governor he accomplished very little (politically), there was no career ladder (by birth not qualified for the presidency), He had an affair and that ruined his family life, he came out (from politics) too old to pick up where he left off (some question whether he could even act before), but today he is an even bigger caricature as hero type, and thus the question.  Keep in mind that I have no idea what his motives were going in.  Perhaps he accomplished everything he wanted.  His only reward that would make sense to me is that he now has a son, which regardless of how he came about, is a gift to him.

 

I am not by any means anti Arnold, I enjoy his screen efforts, but his decision to enter politics, and reduce his income, in exchange for the challenges offered by political office makes me wonder.  I am at a place in life where given the opportunity to invest my time and hard earned money for a chance to double it or more, is not as inviting as it used to be.

 

In today’s uncertain economy there are still fortunes to be made, but there is a lot to be said for hanging on to what you got.  That goes for every resource you have; your family, your home, your friends, your money, and especially your sanity.  The best is yet to come…