Worth

So often I hear, "How much is your time worth?"  It's a marketing ploy, designed to have you pay for services you could do yourself, if only you had a little time.  This marketing tactic isn't pure evil.  It is true that spending your time doing other things may have value to you, so you choose to go that route.   However, many times, asking me how much my time is worth is not motivating.  Maybe it's because I am young and I feel infinite.  If I don't have time to do something today, I'll just do it tomorrow.

For me, "How much is your sanity worth?" is much more inspiring.  I had never thought of this in the past until my significant other mentioned it the other day.  He's been trying to save a bit of money by doing some car repairs on his own.  While he knows how to do the repair on his car, he does not have all the right tools or know the process by heart.  These situations have lead to new problems, and the initial problem was not solved.  Perhaps if a professional had been involved, they would have told him the process wouldn't fix the problem.  At the very least, it wouldn't have lead to breaking other things and having to fix them as well.

Being able to have a positive attitude through the day and get something done correctly and reliably have worth to me.

However, there is also value from doing things yourself.  The pride that comes when you complete a task.  The accomplishment of learning something new.  The bragging rights.  I love that feeling.

Sometimes we go into a situation looking for those feelings of pride and accomplishment, only to be derailed by getting in over your head.  We've been there.  It's tough to know whether to go the professional or DIY route.  Understand your limitations.  Research the process.  Make an informed decision.  And remember, your sanity has worth.