"What am I getting out of this?"
Edited July 8th, 2024.
What's an ROI?
ROI = Return on Investment.
Basically, what you put in is what you get out - Your return on investment.
AKA, ROI.
And everything we do has a return to it.
Our actions have results and consequences, constituting our ROI.
An ROI answers the question:
"What am I getting out of this?"
We do many things in life and attain results, both good and bad.
The investment needn't always be financial but rather about action.
It starts from:
"What am I getting myself into here?"
to
"Is the effort worth it?"
In investing, you ask, "What am I getting from this investment?"
In the real world, you ask: "What am I getting from this action?"
Habits and ROI
For habits, the ROI is compounding— You don't see results instantly, but they occur in the long run.
Let's use investment terminologies here:
Say you invest $100 with a 10% return annually. (Assume a perfect world.)
In your first year, you make $10; Total = $110.
In your second year, you make 10% of what you made your previous year.
That is 10% of $110 ($11.) Total = $121.
The third year, 10% on $121 becomes $133.2
And so on.
By compounding, you earn interest on your investment, building on top of what you've already built.
Hence why Albert Einstein said that compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world.
The same goes for habits.
Your habits compound the longer you do them.
If you workout everyday, you improve on your previous workout.
If you learn a new skill, you build on the last time you practiced it.
Communicating more with people improves your social capital through networking.
The ROI of good consistent habits is compounding.
Playing the Long Game
Say you're lifting weights:
You won't gain muscle doing 40 reps in two days. But you will if you do 20 reps over 1,000+ days.
Instead of expecting immediate results, delayed gratification is your best friend here.
With habits, the ROI isn't immediate but gradually compounding over time.
20 pushups daily for a year will be a toned upper torso.
One Quora answer per week equals 52 articles per year.
$200/week in an index fund over five years at 8% returns yields $58,356.
And much more.
For such reasons, consistency, patience, and faith are highly underrated values in today's instantly gratified society.
ROI Mindset Starter Pack
SMART Goals. A goal is vital toward embracing the ROI mindset, with the best goals being SMART—Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant (or Realistic), and Time-Bound. (More about SMART goals here.)
Self-awareness & honesty. You must be honest and aware enough to know your limits and capabilities. If you aren't self-aware, you'll run into ends that make nada sense, and if you aren't honest with yourself, you'll dig yourself into a pit of regret and lost time.
Optionalities. When plotting how to achieve your goals, consider your options and their potential returns.
Will they add to your goals?
Will you meander?
Do they align with your passions? Make informed choices that will yield a return on your time, effort, and energy.
Energy and time. Time and energy are critical resources, and how you spend them matters. Assess whatever consumes your time and energy; see if it aligns with your goals and whether it energizes or drains you, then act accordingly.
Progress tracking, wins-stacking. Tracking your progress enhances your efficiency, which helps your ROI.
If there's an optimal route to achieving your goal, you'll achieve it more efficiently.
The mini-wins you hit along the way deserve credit, too—they serve as evidence of the accomplished milestones in achieving your main goal.
A Growth Mindset. The growth mindset is the "always learning, always improving" mindset. With this, every obstacle is an opportunity to grow, and overcoming each obstacle yields mini-ROIs through experience, resilience, and wisdom.
Isn't this selfish?
It might look like it...but it's not.
The goal of the ROI mindset is to help you live a more intentional life that aligns with your priorities.
And an ROI can be anything...including a goal that benefits others.
If I participate in a local environment clean-up, the ROI is a clean(er) neighborhood and personal satisfaction from that mission.
If I donate to a local charity, the ROI is the charity receiving extra funding as I receive a tax break—A Win-Win situation for both parties.
Social workers are a good example of this - Their ROI is service to others.
How the ROI Mindset can help you
Improved decision-making. By clearly understanding your objectives, you decide how you invest your resources: Time, energy, and capital.
You achieve your goals faster. By investing in the right areas, you strategize your plans well and accelerate progress toward your goals.
A more intentional life. By adopting an ROI mindset in your life, you make more calculated choices that align with your goals. This leads to a higher sense of purpose, improved relationships, and overall satisfaction.
Carerra's Take
I've embraced the ROI mindset since late 2022—still a work in progress. It's helped me abundantly in rationalizing some life-changing decisions.
Corporate vs. Grad School
Which post-grad job to take
Where to live during and after school
Et cetera.
I'm not an SME on it yet, but through practice, it'll take me places.
And I'm yet to fail at it.
Conclusion
Our actions are our investments with good actions breeding progress.
For a quality life,
Perform quality actions
And get a positive ROI.
The same applies to misactions...but no one wants to get there.
In today's rushed economy, the ROI mindset is key.
And to get ahead in life, ask yourself at any chance,
"What do I stand to gain from this?"
Then get your deserved ROI.
.
.
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~T.K.K
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