A year ago this month I was sent on a work project that put me 11 hours from home. During this time I was away from my wife, family, and friends for 2+ months.
One good thing that came out of this trip was an extremely valuable lesson I learned. It’s that lesson I want to share with you all today.
Since we at A Step Above Style value your time (and because you already know why you’re here) we’ll jump right in.
Let’s begin.
How People Make Money
Most of us earn an income by exchanging our time for money.
Because of that exchange, sometimes we miss important events, occasions, and moments due to being at work. Things such as:
- Birthday parties
- Weddings
- Funerals
- Graduations
- A child’s first day of school in a new grade
- Etc.
And although we understand we have to work to earn a living, we can’t forget what we exchanged to earn this money in the first place.
Now back to my story.
While away on the aforementioned work trip our dog Jackson passed away.
This dog meant a lot to my wife especially, and I hated being so far away from home and unable to comfort her during this unexpected loss.
I realized I’ll never get the chance to be there for my wife in that moment again. That day has passed, and I can’t go back in time. I missed it, and all because I was away working; trading my time for money.
As painful as it was for me to know I missed that special moment with my wife, I did realize something very important nonetheless :
The Lesson
“The least I can do is be smart with the money I earned while missing out on so much”.
ASAS Words of Wisdom
For me to take the money I earned during that depressing time and spend it on fast food, new gadgets, or fancy clothes would’ve left me feeling very shallow.
Shallow because it cost me a lot emotionally to be away from my wife during that time. The only compensation I received while away was my paychecks.
And for me to carelessly spend that money on “things” would be a shame.
Conclusion
We hope you found today’s post insightful.
It’s our goal at A Step Above Style to share meaningful content with our readers.
After learning this lesson, I’m much more careful with how I spend my money. It’s a sacrifice to earn it, and I’m going to make sure to be intentional with whatever I use it for.
Until next time, yall have a good one.
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