Pay The Price. Everyone Does. It's The Cost Of Living YOUR Life.

I have recently found myself contemplating and formulating this thought:

Whether we like it or not, everyone pays the price for living their life.

For richer or poorer, from the day we are born, whether with the good fortune of a silver spoon in our mouths, or the abject tragedy of entering this world with a hungry belly driving the base need for our survival, we each have X number of days, hours, minutes to live on this planet.

Let's call these 'days, hours, minutes'.. time-credits. Non-refundable time-credits. Once they're gone, they're gone!

From Day One, we 'pay' for whatever we do (or don't do) with these non-refundable time-credits.

As infants, it is clear that someone else spends their time-credits (pays the price) as their responsibility for helping us, as we spend our time-credits, to learn and grow.

As we mature - at different times for different people - we get to learn that we can spend these time-credits any way we choose.

Some choose to spend them with highly-ambitious objectives.

Others spend their time-credits with very different objectives.

And still some others don't learn until very late in life that they have been spending their time-credits with every breath they take.. allowing others to impact their lives.. blaming others for their lot in life!

Over time we get to recognize that, for most things in life that we want or need (even if just to survive day-to-day), we have to spend (pay the price) in either time and/or effort and/or money (most often, all three combined) to attain them.

Yes, money can make things much easier.. yet, personal experience tells me that coming from 'no money' can make the attainment of things you want extremely satisfying.

Let's explore the letters - P.. R.. I.. C.. E - if only to give us some structure and a few hooks to hang our future discussion hats on. It will become apparent that these letters lead to interrelated connections.

P - PRICE: What is PRICE?

Most dictionaries define 'price' in monetary terms as 'the amount of money one must pay to buy something'.. or more broadly, as 'the personal cost in time, effort, and/or money to obtain or achieve something' - otherwise talked of as 'the price you must pay' to achieve whatever you want to achieve'.

P - Personal: - Price is a personal construct. Some may think that the price they must pay for what they want is 'too much'.. and others may think that the same price is 'dirt cheap'. This tends to be relative to the individual's status in life.

Some even refer to living in the ever-maturing Internet age of the 2020s as giving them access to tons of 'free' content which they contend disproves my 'everyone pays the price' assertion above.

I will argue that every ounce of that 'free' content is paid for by someone who 'pays the price' in time and/or effort and/or money.. from and for the creative production thereof, to the hosting thereof on expensive servers.. for whatever their personal objective. Not to mention the many years of Intellectual Property and expertise garnered at huge cost/ expense that goes into the production of such content.

And, in order to access that 'free content the user has got to have the requisite hardware, software and electrical power. There is a cost to everything (see C below).

I have to consider that I have pointed out in the past that 'the best things in life are free' - talking about the wonders of nature, for example - watching the early morning sun rising, a swim in the ocean, a run on the beach, a hike in the mountains.

In truth, that is relatively speaking (see R below) if you happen to already be located close to such amenities or have the privilege of stress-free time-credits to spend on partaking in them.

What with rising oil prices driving up fuel/petrol bills, and inflation driving up the cost of vehicles/transport, it becomes difficult and expensive for many, if not for most, to 'pay the price' to reach these free amenities. There is a cost to everything!

R - Recognition; Responsibility; Relative:

In short, I believe we need to recognize that we 'pay the price' and are responsible for the things we do and the decisions we take.. and, for the things we don't do and the decisions we don't take (not taking a decision is a decision).. and worse still, for the things others do and the decisions they take.

The Covid19 pandemic, global lockdowns, the Russian invasion of Ukraine (amongst other things, such as the Jan 6 storming of the Capitol in the U.S. & corruption revelations, and the June riots in South Africa) all have an impact on peoples lives, standards of living, taxes, inflation, et al).

We 'pay the price' for not making ourselves more vocal, to standup and be counted, for what we want to have happen in the world.. or to stop those who foment misery on others.

We 'pay the price' for stupidity in the world!

Road users and accident victims 'pay the price' for bad drivers, poor road conditions, and corrupt officials.

Employees and employers 'pay the price' for poor working conditions, illegal strikes, et al.

Citizens 'pay the price' for corrupt leadership.

I also fully recognize that we each have a different perspective on life and that all perspectives are relative to where we see ourselves positioned in life. I am well aware that the poorest pay the highest price of all in life.

I offer some encouraging thoughts here: Where Do YOU Stand On The Totem-Pole Of Life? Extract: 'I am thinking that perhaps we all have the potential to be whatever and wherever we want to be.. despite our circumstances. We just need to give ourselves a chance to succeed. We need to make things happen. We need to buy a ticket to the ride of our lives. We need to change our perspectives and mindsets.'

I - Individual; Independent; Investment: Each and everyone of us is a unique individual in every way. Our individual perspectives are shaped by differing life experiences. Every individual will react completely differently to the concept of 'pay the price'. Every individual desires the right to independence of thought on the price they are willing to pay for anything.

The optimist in life tends to see the opportunity to 'pay the price' as an investment to 'enjoy the benefit' of whatever they receive in return.

C - Cost: We learn that there is generally a personal cost (the price we pay) to attaining the things we want and an emotional, mental and physical cost (the 'price' we pay) to keep from losing the things we have. As mentioned before, we also learn over time that there is a very real cost to us (the price we pay) for what other people do.. and for things/events that we have no control over.

Reckless drivers can cost us our lives.. and our loved ones' lives.

An unprovoked attack on another country can cost thousands of lives!

Looting of shops, malls and warehouses can cost owners their businesses.

The price we pay = the cost to us.

E- Everyone; Everything; Every day: 'EVERYONE pays the price for something every day, whether you know it or not.. like it or not!'

'EVERYTHING we want or do has a price that we pay.. even when we do nothing!'

'EVERY DAY we pay the price for what other people do'!

Life will let you get away with something for a while, but sooner or later, you will pay the price. Everything you do in life causes the effects that you experience. When you get the bill, be prepared to pay. Iyanla Vanzant

Is there some measure of truth in these thoughts? Do they stimulate further thoughts? Discuss in comments section below.

Trevor Nel?is author of One Idea Is All It Takes and numerous publications & articles, including :

1. Another GREAT Day in Africa!
2. Confessions of a SERIAL Entrepreneur
3. Here's How To Be Well-Prepared For YOUR Cycles Of Success
4. Here's How YOU Can Make A Meaningful Difference In Other People's Lives
5. COMRADES Marathon: Metaphor For The Marathon Of Life
6. Riding the wild, wild River Of Life
7. Life Lessons Learnt as a Dusi Rat