Two ways to Think
I find it enlightening to think about the world using dichotomy. Often you can think about things as if they neatly sorted into two groups. East or west? Up or down? Left or right? With people I think there are two kinds: those who believe there are two kinds of people and those who don’t! Sorry, for the bad joke!
Of course, I know that people are very complex and do not sort themselves out neatly. So dichotomy is a useful tool to understand but not a perfect model.
Sunk Cost or Joy?
When you look at me above (taken in Death Valley) what do you see? As a photographer I might see a guy with a camera and a bag. I might wonder what type of camera he has and how many lenses. My focus might be on the equipment.
As an artist I might see a person enjoying and capturing the beauty that God created. I might look at the face and see someone having a wonderful experience. I might wonder about who he is and what he has seen in his life.
Sunk cost thinking centers on how much something cost – in money, in time or in effort. Sunk cost thinking puts value on the past effort to acquire. If a camera cost me $5,000 ten years ago that camera is always a $5,000 camera. When I sell it, if I can bear to sell it, I think about the how much I lost – a ten year old camera will certainly sell for much less than what I paid for it.
Joy thinking centers around the impact something has on people and the world – regardless of cost. The cost to acquire something is not the point. The value of an object is related to what it has brought into the world. A joy centered person doesn’t see a $5,000 camera, they see the wonderful pictures it has captured and all the fun the photographer had using the camera.
So what difference does it make?
All material objects are fleeting. They rust, they wear out, they fall apart, they become obsolete. So if you focus on the cost to acquire an object you will spend your life calculating loss. If a thief steals your camera you can only mourn the loss and fill your heart with anger.
Joy is eternal, joy lasts, joy multiplies! If a thief steels a joyful person’s camera there might be some felling of loss. But the memories of all the wonderful pictures they have taken with it will be the most important thing. A joyful person remembers the value the camera created and not how much it cost. The joy it created could well be a thousand or ten thousand or a million times more that it’s original purchase cost. A joyful person may even wish the thief well – maybe they will create more art with the camera.
The choice is yours
The choice is yours. You can center your life around stuff or you can center around joy. You can think about yesterday and let decisions you made in the past determine your future. Or you can start each day anew and take the path of Joy!
