... is that it encourages me to put a dollar value on time. An amount of time is not worth a certain amount of money. This is silly.
It is ourselves we give, not our time. I give myself in service to this person or that task. It is the person I'm serving or the task that I'm doing that is important. Not how long it takes or how much money will be put into my account at the end of it.
If a task is worthwhile and I've committed myself to it, I should give myself ungrudgingly.
Raising a child is an important task. It could take 18 years or longer, but however long it takes, I will give myself to it out of love. Choosing the right birthday present for my husband could take a while, but it would be time well used.
This last week or so I've been bitter about the amount of time I've spent on church stuff. Counting hours is such a stupid thing to do. What do I expect? A pay cheque? The task I'm doing is worthwhile. I know that. We're not short of cash. Why don't I just get on with it?
I think perhaps because you subconsciously recognise that time is actually valuable - you could have spent it on any number of other activities. Putting a $ value on it is just one way some people have of recognising its value.
ReplyDeleteIf your time isn't valued by those you spend it on then they don't appreciate you. For you, you may be happy with a, "Thanks, I really appreciate the time and effort you've expended on this activity" type statement - it still recognises that your time and effort is valuable even if it isn't quantifiable.
Not sure that I've explained this well.
I often feel the same way - and I don't do any paid work at the moment. Thanks for posting this Simone, it was exactly what I needed to read this week!!
ReplyDeletexo
ReplyDelete