The Finite Game
86,400 a number so big, yet so little
When we were young, we always wanted the newest and shiniest toys. We wanted the new PlayStation, the toy in the latest fad, or the biggest Lego set. We would see it and go ask our parents with the biggest grin on our face, “Mom, can I please get this? I will do extra chores around the house for the next month.” To which we would get old age adage “Sorry honey, money doesn’t grow on trees. Not today.” Well, like most things in life, mom is right. Money in fact doesn’t grow on trees. Money is finite. Unfortunately, we haven’t discovered how to grow money by planting a seed in the ground.
We can’t just magically make money appear out of thin air. We can’t stick a tree in our backyard and watch our money grow. Money is limited. We use money carefully. We ration our money. We decide if we really need the latest iPhone or could we save a few bucks and make an older version work. Like money, much of life is finite in nature. We, as humans, have not found a way to magically produce scarce resources out of thin air. Maybe one day ChatGPT can do that for us. Maybe one day.
As humans, it is understood money is a scarce resource and must be rationed properly or we will be left with nothing. If we have a big vacation coming up, we may cut back our monthly spending on coffee or skip our weekly splurge at Lululemon. We can’t just go spending our money on everything we want. We do this because we realize it is not a resource that is easily produced for the common person. We have a limited amount and it must be allocated and invested wisely.
86,400
The question is, why don’t we treat other finite natures of our life like money? What if I told you, you had $86,440 to spend before it disappears at the end of your life? You could never recoup any of that money for when the time expires, the money disappears. Good chance, you would be very careful along the way with this money.
Each day we wake up with 86,440 seconds in our day. We are given currency in the form of time. However, when that day ends we can never get that time back. That so-called money is gone forever. If we are so careful with our money, why aren’t we so careful with our time?
Time is finite. Time is limited. Time is scarce. We lay our head to rest each night having spent 86,440 of our time currency yet, we often waste it. You wouldn’t just waste $3,600 on a useless investment that offers no return so why would you waste an hour of your day doing something that offers you no return?
This is not to say to not do the little things like binge an hour of Netflix or to scroll aimlessly through Twitter for 30 minutes, this is to say to understand we are using our well earned time currency on those things. Sometimes, those things are necessary to keep us human and keep us sane. Time like that helps us to decompress and recharge, a necessity of life. However, it is important to realize that so much of life is lived in a defined manner. Once we use it, we can never get it back.
What Sports can Tell Us
Take sports, for example. The beauty of sports is that we play finite games. We understand we have a defined amount of time to play and we can’t just keep playing for an endless amount of time until we reach our desired outcome. There is a predetermined start and finish. In the NFL, we play 60 minutes. In the MLB, we play 9 innings. In the NBA, we play four quarters. Not only do we play finite games but we play finite seasons. In college basketball, you have a regular season, conference tournament, and then March Madness.
When March Madness comes it is time to win or pack your bags and go home. The ending of the season nears, the stakes rise, and the urgency grows. This produces some special moments.
The Clock will Reach Zero
On March 20, 2016, the Texas A&M Aggies were playing the Northern Iowa Panthers in the second round of the NCAA tournament. Texas A&M was the three seed and Northern Iowa was the 11-seed having just upset Texas. The game was winding down and Northern Iowa’s Cinderella story was beginning to materialize, an 11-seed in the Sweet 16. A beautiful story as old as time.
With 44 seconds remaining, they led Texas A&M by 12, 69-57, and a safe lead had been reached. Texas A&M needed nothing short of a miracle to advance.
However, what unfolded in the next 44 seconds was one of the greatest March Madness comebacks of all-time. Northern Iowa would get outscored 14-2 over the next 44 seconds as Texas A&M tied the game at 71 and sent it into overtime. 40 minutes wasn’t enough. Neither was 45. In double overtime, Texas A&M would defeat Northern Iowa by a count of 92-88 and advance.
Texas A&M understood the situation. It was a finite game and at some point the clock will tick to zero, no time will remain, and someone must go home. They had $3,000 of time to use. Originally, it was $2,400 but they were able to extend it with two overtimes. Both teams were given a fair shake.
With 44 seconds left, Texas A&M’s capital was dwindling and dwindling fast. They wanted to get the most out of their investments. Blood, sweat, and tears had been given to their season. They wanted to continue their run and make all the time invested in the season worth it. Texas A&M realized the urgency of the situation before it was too late.
When the clock hits zero or the new day starts, the game and day are finished. The history has been written and our investments have been made. This is the beauty of the finite games. Texas A&M made sure their investment of time was worth it before it was too late. Often times, you too can correct something even when some may say it is too late, no one thought Texas A&M would come back. We play finite games in life just like any team in sports. It is important to realize the games we are playing and the investments associated with them.
Take Texas A&M, they didn’t have money invested in the game but they had invested time and boy, did they invest a lot of it. Countless preseason workouts, numerous flights across the country, a five month season, the list goes on.
Time and Money, One in the Same
Time is an investment just like money. It is no different, yet we look at it as such. Time is our universal currency. Time is fair. Time is just. Time doesn’t discriminate, and time, it waits for no one. Everyone is placed on an equal playing field in the sense that everyone has the same amount. Each day, we are given $86,400 of currency in the form of time. It is just a matter of how we choose to use that $86,400 that differentiates us.
Just like Texas A&M, humans realize the gravity of the situation when it comes to investing our hard earned money into a project, the capital required to buy a new car or house, the closing moments of a game, or even every second of a high stakes game like the super bowl. So why don’t humans view their time in the same light? Time is in fact our greatest asset and one we can never get back.
P.S. Check out the highlights of Texas A&M and Northern Iowa. Insanity.