Wishful Spending vs. Investing In What You Already Like

Spring is peeking in (in some places) and eventually coming (in others).

One thing I know I will not be doing… is gardening. For many years, I didn’t do gardening well, and I did not do well by gardening. The sum of it all was essentially: I would rather spend my attention elsewhere (and I did… to the wilting demise of my unattended plants). For years, though, I liked the idea of gardening, and so I thought that if I only had the right tools, the right plants, the right materials, then the project would be a success.

As it turned out… none of those things could overcome what was the root issue — not a lack of supplies, but a lack of interest. After many years, I packed in my gardening hallucinations and determined not to spend another dime on this “hobby”.

Have you ever been caught up in “wishful spending”?

“I’m going to buy a good set of pots & pans, then I will cook more at home and eat out less…”

“I don’t work out at home, but if I had this exercise machine, I definitely would…”

“If I just had the right [baby supply, kitchen tool, organizing bin, etc.], then my life would be easier…”

It's a nice dream, but unfortunately, spending money on something we aren’t interested will not, in itself, going to kickstart the motivation to now embrace that thing.

[*Caveat: the habit-change tactic of "pairing" can be effective — ie. Only do X when you're doing Y. But, the reality is, "I get to wear my fun workout clothes" is rarely enough of an incentive, unless there is more motivation involved. ]

What you will actually see the most fruitfulness & reward in is investing in those things in which you already have proven interest. Good spellers, when they spend time improving their spelling, make bigger advances than poor spellers who put in the same time. "Build on your strengths" is a common expression, but "invest in your interests" is the same notion. The best person to make use of a great tool, is the one who can work well with the average tool. 

Have you ever sunk money into something you hoped would generate your interest for it? 

What's an example of when you've invested in one of your interests, for good?