“The most powerful force in the universe is compound interest.”
– Attributed to Albert Einstein.
Today I will be a little technical…and then I will say why. On my current reading list is ‘The Psychology of money’. It highlights that our interactions with money are a behavioral thing based on our past experiences. We all know that our perceptions have a big impact on all our experiences. It is in this book that I was reminded of compounding – in simple terms – Compounding is the repeated addition of interest payments to the principal invested over a period of time. The principal grows exponentially as each new payment of interest is added to it (Investopedia).
As I was reading this, it occurred to me that compounding not only relates to money, but also relates to all other areas in our lives. Do you smell a superimposition? I do! I’ll keep it brief. We have bank accounts or piggy banks or m-banks in our phones…at least I hope so!
Interpersonal relationships – The different relationships we have with each other, operate on the same principle of compounding. We hold a proverbial bank account with each person we often interact with. Every positive thing we do, whether small or big, is a deposit into that account, and every negative thing that we do, whether small or big, is a withdrawal from that account.
Have you ever encountered a person who just seems to drain you and doesn’t seem keen on making a deposit into the proverbial bank account? These people are often referred to as takers. All they do is take…take…take. Don’t get me wrong…taking is not bad…but you have to balance with the giving. If the scale is skewed heavily on the giving, the two people in the relationship will not encounter an overdrawn account.
Giving does not have to be financial…it can be anything from support, time, love, warmth etc…Are you still following? When we ensure that we don’t have overdrawn interpersonal accounts, we are able to solve disputes, grow and heal together.
Just as an account can be overdrawn to the point of closure, so too are the interpersonal relationships we have.
I promised to keep it brief, so I will stop there with some thoughts.
Do you have any ‘account’ that is on the verge of being overdrawn? Make a deposit.
Do you have any ‘account’ that is running on empty? Perhaps you need to close it.
Do you have any ‘account’ that has the potential to grow? Perhaps you need to open it!
Have a compounding week.