Time, Money, and Happiness

The life expectancy,--the average number of years to be lived by a group of people born in the same year, if mortality at each age remains constant in the future --of women and men in Zimbabwe is 40.5 years according to The 2007/ 2008 United Nations Development Programme report Human Development index, ranking it 151st out of 177 countries from which they have compiled data. The American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was a little less generous with time and projected that the average life expectancy for Zimbabwe women and men is 39.72 years; with males exceeding female life with 40.87 and 38.55 years respectively.

Ravages of poverty, chronic underdevelopment, and the endemic AIDS reality for many of our African brothers and sisters is a sobering reminder, that like money, capital, and other more tangible factors of production, time, too, is limited and the behaviors associated with what economists classically labeled "scarcity" have to be employed when dealing with this entity as relates to creating financially sound and spiritually rewarding decisions.

Think It, Plan It, Do It!

You are more likely to run out of time before you are to run out of money. This makes planning what you do with you money and for how long you do it that much more pressing. Last week, we focused our energies on uncovering the cost of the creative, the inexpensive, and the simple that bring joy into our lives. My short list included reading, dancing, writing, and meeting with friends for dinner. Identifying what brings you joy, however, is only part of the equation to happiness. The second and more practical component of this action plan is literally making time for it in your life. Please take 15 minutes to determine if you are devoting time to your happiness. It is often quite revealing that the things that we love to do the most, that enrich us, nurture our spirits, and center our lives are given no priority or attention in our daily lives.

10 Other Things That Make Me Happy &Time Spent on Happiness (weekly)

1. bubble baths 0 minutes

2.reading articles in Spanish 15 minutes

3. stretching 0-20 minutes

4.talking to my mother 4-5 hours

5.listening to salsa 2 hours

6.working on creative fiction pieces 30 minutes

7.making new friends 0 minutes

8.dancing in the mirror 20 minutes

9.lotioning with cocoa butter 1-2 hours

10. following up on Obama campaign 2-3 hours

Excuse Me, What are You Waiting For?

America is very fast paced. But who told you that you had to sprint? There will always be something to do, some agenda to siphon your time, some external catalyst to redirect or divide your attention--- something seemingly more important than nurturing your authentic self and aligning your money decisions with what satisfies you the most.

According to CIA statistics, life expectancy for Americans averages 78.14 years, 75.29 years and 81.13 for men and women respectively. We take for granted that there will be time to do everything, especially when compared to our kinfolk across the Atlantic. But the reality is that we will die eventually. Please make sure that you do not live a life full of regrets because you never identified or devoted time to your happiness.