According to the statistics in an article on SocialMediaToday.com, the average time spent on social media each day is 116 minutes. With the average human lifespan, that equals 5 years and 4 months of our life on social media. The same article says we spend 7 years and 8 months of our life watching television. Whoa! And that is just the average. I know personally I’ve had days where I’m on social media for 2+ hours, as well as days of binge watching a show with my husband. Imagine what we could do with 5+ extra years of our lives!
An article in business insider shared that a person who drinks Starbucks daily could have afforded an iPhone 6 in one year with the money they spent on their drinks.
FoxBusiness.com says, “Of course, we all need to eat, which means food must account for a portion of our monthly spending. But there’s a big difference between buying groceries and paying for restaurant meals and takeout. Most food establishments charge a 300% markup on the items they serve. This means that any time you spend $15 on an entree, the food you’re eating only costs $5 to make. The fact that the average American family spends just over $3,000 a year on prepared food means we’re all cheating ourselves out of an annual $2,000 — money that could be instrumental in padding our emergency funds, getting out of debt, or saving for the future.”
BrandonGaille.com says that 20% of what shoppers buy at the grocery store is bought on impulse. Their statistics also say that 40% of consumer spending is impulse buying!
I don’t know about you, but I’ve experienced moments in my life when I regretted eating out or impulsively buying something because later I remembered the item that I really had been wanting and waiting to buy once I had the money…but now the money was gone because of my impulsive purchasing.
What if we actually spent our money and our time in such a manner that it accurately reflected what we say we value?
In this series, The Real You, we’ve been answering the question “What is Authenticity?” by breaking it up into 4 posts.
What is Authenticity? It is…
- Knowing who you are
- Matching Your Priorities to Your Principles
- Not trying to be someone else
- Perhaps not everything you thought it was (7 Misconceptions about Authenticity)
Today I want to talk to you about a huge area that makes up “authenticity.” And that is actually matching up your actions to your words. Walking the talk. Living out what you say you value most. Prioritizing what you claim is most important to you.
So why did I show you statistics about time and money?
Well, I believe that one of the easiest ways to see what someone values is by looking at what they invest the most time and money into.
When you look back on this week, what did you spend the most time on? Working overtime? Spending time with your kids? Creating art? Watching television?
And what did you spend your money on this week (aside from necessities)? New makeup to add to your large collection? Books? Snacks? The latest Apple product? A gift for your friend’s birthday?
Now how does this match up with what you say you value most in life? Is it an accurate reflection? Did anything surprise you?
I have free worksheets for you in my eBook, The Real You: The Ultimate Guide to Knowing Yourself and Developing Authenticity, that you can grab on my exclusive resources page by filling out the form below. It will help you take a closer look at your top priorities, what you spend money on, and how you spend your time. I also provide action steps to help you match your priorities to you principles.
What would it be worth to you to live a life that is a clear reflection of what you say you value the most? Imagine having the money to buy the things that you believe would be the most beneficial to you. What if you kept the end-game in mind and could obtain the things that would give you years of happiness rather than short-lived immediate gratification? How would it feel for you to spend the time on the things that mattered most to you? What if people grew in their admiration and trust in you because they came to know you as a person whose words matches her actions? How would it feel to live out your life authentically, prioritizing spending time and money on the things that are important to you?
You can have that kind of beautiful, authentic life, my friend. And it begins by matching your priorities to your principles.
If you’re ready to take action, then don’t forget to grab my free eBook.
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