It is all because of my interest in Economics and the awesome professors at Michigan Tech that I understood a big aspect of a human being's life. Economics is not all about efficient money management, it taught me benefit-loss analysis related to one's personal life.
DEADWEIGHT LOSS- In my language Deadweight Loss refers to a loss to a person and the society which cannot be recovered.
In personal life deadweight loss is when you miss your change of doing something which has its maximum value at a particular time. Some things if done at the right time gives you the ultimate satisfaction, once that time has gone then doing the same thing would never satisfy you as much as doing it at the right time.
I have made enough deadweight losses. When I was a kid I always wanted to participate in my school's extra co-curricular activities but I never got permission from my parents as all they wanted was me to study and get good marks. I was in 10th grade and my school arranged for a trip to DPS R.K. Puram during the summer vacations. All my close friends were going on the trip to DPS R.K. Puram and my parents asked me to join a coaching institute for IIT-JEE preparations. The cost of the trip was some Rs.6000/- and may be this was the reason that my parents did not want me to go. I don't know what but all I know is... that was a trip I missed, I was sad and my parents knew it. I had no answer to the question of my friends that why I was not going on the trip. My friends had crazy fun, they came back with lots of cherishing memories and on the other hand I had a deadweight loss. There were little things like spending no money on clothes, on my birthday parties etc that kept adding to my deadweight losses. There are only little things which make you the happiest person in the world when you are a kid. When I was in 12th grade, a friend of mine asked me about the places I have visited...any hill station or any family trip. I had no answer because every summer my family used to visit either at my grand parent's place or I was attending some coaching institute. My dad's friends used to take their family on vacations but that never influenced him for any good.
There were few things which I never knew existed. May it be some popular food joint, brand of clothes, about cars, shopping malls, places, mobile phones etc because I never experienced it. Till 12th grade I had never been to any shopping mall, no Mc Donalds, no KFC..no family vacations..nothing.
I know these things are not a necessity of a human being and there are many kids who even do not have food to eat, but looking back I can see that my family could have afforded all these little not so very expensive things and the list of my deadweight losses could have been quite small. There is no point regretting but things could have been way better.
2007, I left home and was staying in my college's hostel. Life was fun, I had money and there was no one to restrict me from doing anything. I fulfilled my urge to participate in extra co-curricular activities. By the end of my college life I had done it all.... cultural fests, technical fests, Radio shows, acting, street plays...I did everything possible. There is still one thing to note. Because of the way I was brought up since childhood, there were things which were hard for me to even imagine when I grew up, like spending money on good clothes, going out on a trip with friends, clubbing, partying and all those things that you crave for when you are a teenager. I had money but my mind never allowed me to spend money on LIVING GOOD because that is how my mind was shaped and I could not get over it. If someone ask me today to go on a trip to GOA...I would say it would not be as much fun as compared to a GOA trip taken when I was in college. College days were the best time to go to Goa and have fun with friends. Those days are gone. That peak fun I would never be able to achieve again. The fun which a lot of my friends had. That was the perfect time.
Many of my college friends went to Darjeeling, a beautiful hill station near my college. I never had courage to ask my parents some money to make a trip there, because I knew mostly they would say no because for them all that mattered was me doing good academically, rest was waste of money and time. I still want to visit Darjeeling but I would not have the same craze of visiting that place. I have added my trip to Darjeeling to my deadweight loss list.
One interesting thing, during college days I had lots of money. My dad never said no to whatever amount of money I asked from him. But eventually for me buying good clothes, eating at good places, partying, were things which people with money could do. I never realized I could have had the same fun spending money on good living than on cheap booze and OTHER STUFFS.
When you are in a professional world you would never have the same craze of wearing a fancy outfit, going out with friends on a vacation, buying a new phone, buying a pair of shoes or buying an expensive watch. Because the essence of doing things is doing it at the right time.
Now when I have realized this aspect of life, I have never missed a chance to live good, I have never missed a chance to minimize my deadweight losses. may it be making trip with my friends to New York, California, Washington D.C. or buying watches, shoes, car or doing bungee jumping, late night parties....I am experiencing it all. In next three years I will visit all the states in United States, I will go on a Euro trip, I will visit Canada, I will buy some more sexy watches, lots of shoes, clothes and a good camera. I WILL.
I MAY BE LOW ON MONEY BUT I AM HIGH ON LIFE...A SURE THING!!
And yes I am inspired to minimize my deadweight losses through my friends. I look at my friend Anurag Dwivedi and I find him going on camping and hiking trips with his friends...exploring places in India and capturing everything in his camera. I am sure life will not be as much fun for him doing the same stuff sometime later in his life. A lot of my friends live life for the moment and thats how life should be. Enjoy life but do not take it easy and do not make it easy by going with the flow.
Have an aim, fight to achieve it, minimize your deadweight losses, do things at the RIGHT TIME and you will be so much satisfied with your life. Money might be the problem but remember time is a bigger problem any day. This is what I have learned from my friends and through my own experiences.
Things happen for good. The good thing here is I am doing it right now and at the right time. If you could connect your story with mine (which I guess most of you would) then please do not add anymore deadweight loss to your life my friend. If you want something today, it won't please you much tomorrow.
MONEY CAN BUY TIME....just think over it.
Love you all! Thanks for reading :)
DEADWEIGHT LOSS- In my language Deadweight Loss refers to a loss to a person and the society which cannot be recovered.
In personal life deadweight loss is when you miss your change of doing something which has its maximum value at a particular time. Some things if done at the right time gives you the ultimate satisfaction, once that time has gone then doing the same thing would never satisfy you as much as doing it at the right time.
I have made enough deadweight losses. When I was a kid I always wanted to participate in my school's extra co-curricular activities but I never got permission from my parents as all they wanted was me to study and get good marks. I was in 10th grade and my school arranged for a trip to DPS R.K. Puram during the summer vacations. All my close friends were going on the trip to DPS R.K. Puram and my parents asked me to join a coaching institute for IIT-JEE preparations. The cost of the trip was some Rs.6000/- and may be this was the reason that my parents did not want me to go. I don't know what but all I know is... that was a trip I missed, I was sad and my parents knew it. I had no answer to the question of my friends that why I was not going on the trip. My friends had crazy fun, they came back with lots of cherishing memories and on the other hand I had a deadweight loss. There were little things like spending no money on clothes, on my birthday parties etc that kept adding to my deadweight losses. There are only little things which make you the happiest person in the world when you are a kid. When I was in 12th grade, a friend of mine asked me about the places I have visited...any hill station or any family trip. I had no answer because every summer my family used to visit either at my grand parent's place or I was attending some coaching institute. My dad's friends used to take their family on vacations but that never influenced him for any good.
There were few things which I never knew existed. May it be some popular food joint, brand of clothes, about cars, shopping malls, places, mobile phones etc because I never experienced it. Till 12th grade I had never been to any shopping mall, no Mc Donalds, no KFC..no family vacations..nothing.
I know these things are not a necessity of a human being and there are many kids who even do not have food to eat, but looking back I can see that my family could have afforded all these little not so very expensive things and the list of my deadweight losses could have been quite small. There is no point regretting but things could have been way better.
2007, I left home and was staying in my college's hostel. Life was fun, I had money and there was no one to restrict me from doing anything. I fulfilled my urge to participate in extra co-curricular activities. By the end of my college life I had done it all.... cultural fests, technical fests, Radio shows, acting, street plays...I did everything possible. There is still one thing to note. Because of the way I was brought up since childhood, there were things which were hard for me to even imagine when I grew up, like spending money on good clothes, going out on a trip with friends, clubbing, partying and all those things that you crave for when you are a teenager. I had money but my mind never allowed me to spend money on LIVING GOOD because that is how my mind was shaped and I could not get over it. If someone ask me today to go on a trip to GOA...I would say it would not be as much fun as compared to a GOA trip taken when I was in college. College days were the best time to go to Goa and have fun with friends. Those days are gone. That peak fun I would never be able to achieve again. The fun which a lot of my friends had. That was the perfect time.
Many of my college friends went to Darjeeling, a beautiful hill station near my college. I never had courage to ask my parents some money to make a trip there, because I knew mostly they would say no because for them all that mattered was me doing good academically, rest was waste of money and time. I still want to visit Darjeeling but I would not have the same craze of visiting that place. I have added my trip to Darjeeling to my deadweight loss list.
One interesting thing, during college days I had lots of money. My dad never said no to whatever amount of money I asked from him. But eventually for me buying good clothes, eating at good places, partying, were things which people with money could do. I never realized I could have had the same fun spending money on good living than on cheap booze and OTHER STUFFS.
When you are in a professional world you would never have the same craze of wearing a fancy outfit, going out with friends on a vacation, buying a new phone, buying a pair of shoes or buying an expensive watch. Because the essence of doing things is doing it at the right time.
Now when I have realized this aspect of life, I have never missed a chance to live good, I have never missed a chance to minimize my deadweight losses. may it be making trip with my friends to New York, California, Washington D.C. or buying watches, shoes, car or doing bungee jumping, late night parties....I am experiencing it all. In next three years I will visit all the states in United States, I will go on a Euro trip, I will visit Canada, I will buy some more sexy watches, lots of shoes, clothes and a good camera. I WILL.
I MAY BE LOW ON MONEY BUT I AM HIGH ON LIFE...A SURE THING!!
And yes I am inspired to minimize my deadweight losses through my friends. I look at my friend Anurag Dwivedi and I find him going on camping and hiking trips with his friends...exploring places in India and capturing everything in his camera. I am sure life will not be as much fun for him doing the same stuff sometime later in his life. A lot of my friends live life for the moment and thats how life should be. Enjoy life but do not take it easy and do not make it easy by going with the flow.
Have an aim, fight to achieve it, minimize your deadweight losses, do things at the RIGHT TIME and you will be so much satisfied with your life. Money might be the problem but remember time is a bigger problem any day. This is what I have learned from my friends and through my own experiences.
Things happen for good. The good thing here is I am doing it right now and at the right time. If you could connect your story with mine (which I guess most of you would) then please do not add anymore deadweight loss to your life my friend. If you want something today, it won't please you much tomorrow.
MONEY CAN BUY TIME....just think over it.
Love you all! Thanks for reading :)
