There’s something about late August that always feels like a crossroads. Summer’s winding down, routines are about to shift, and whether you have kids heading back to school or not, you can almost feel life nudging you to make choices about where your time and energy will go next.
That’s why this week’s podcast episode is about opportunity cost in life. We’re talking about the sneaky trade-offs that show up when you say yes to one thing and, without even realizing it, you’re saying no to something else.
We often miss that those trade-offs aren’t about money or work. They can be related to joy, rest, relationships, and long-term dreams.
Short-term trade-offs are usually obvious. For example, if you stay out too late, you know you’ll be tired tomorrow.
But the long-term ones? Those can be harder to see.
We can get so locked in on pursuing a single goal that we don’t notice what it’s costing us in the background. As we’re trucking towards a finish line, our relationships, creativity, health, and/or joy might be taking a hit.
So here’s something to sit with this week:
👉 Is the yes you’re giving today in service of the future self you most want to become?
Carry that question as you move through your day. Sometimes the smallest shift in awareness can change the way you choose.
Before you go, here’s an AI prompt to help you explore this a bit further!
Copy this prompt and paste it into ChatGPT or your fave AI tool. Remember, the more context you provide about yourself and your situation, the more robust results you’ll receive.
Act as a values-based decision coach. I’m working toward [insert goal], but I’m realizing it might come at the cost of things I care about like [insert values here, example: time, connection, flexibility]. Help me explore what I’m really trading in pursuit of this goal, and whether the life it leads to is one I actually want. Then guide me through one small step I can take to bring my current choices into better alignment.
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