I recently heard a quote that I would like to share: “It was a time when I believed the most valuable asset I could have was information, but now what I realize is that ‘Time’ is actually the most valuable asset anyone can ever possess. You can never buy more of it, and you can never go back and replace it, once it’s gone it gone.”
This statement made me pause in my tracks, because the truth of the matter is “time” really is the most valuable and important thing any one person has. When I decided that becoming Ms. Maryland was something that I wanted to do, I realized that this would be a serious sacrifice of my resources, those resources being money, sleep (lol), energy and of course my time.
Recently, I volunteered at the Annual African American Family Celebration at the Washington Nation Zoo. I was jumping in the hay with the kids as they searched for eggs and helping hand out prizes as they finished. What was amazing to me is how happy and excited they were to be doing the simplest things; I realized children don’t require much to be content and happy. It kind of makes me wonder how much different the world would be if we all took that same approach that children do, using our time to do more of what we found true peace and happiness in, instead of mundane things that often leave us empty.
I currently work for a company that has made a commitment to donate 5% of their net profit earning to non-profit organizations throughout the world. I am not yet in a position to give 5% of my net earnings away, but what I can do is dedicate the resources that I have the most control over — my time and energy — to helping causes within my community. Thus, what I have found is that there truly is more happiness in giving then receiving; a cliché, I know, but in my case true.
I suppose one of my biggest fears in life is to one day reflect back on my life and regret having not spent my time more wisely and perhaps wasted it on chasing selfish pursuits instead of pursuing endeavors that helped others in my community, and thus helped myself. Maybe it’s time that we all challenged ourselves to spend more of our most valuable asset on the things that really matter… helping others.
Tiffany Parker is Ms. Maryland 2011. She has partnered with Washington Area Women’s Foundation to raise awareness of the issues faced by women and girls during her reigning year.