Introspective Economy

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Introspective Economy

(Approximate reading time: 2 min, 40 sec)

What is the introspective economy?

Classical economics analyzes economic systems. It studies the relationships between the subjects of these systems.

But we don’t see that we have our inner economy. Parts of us have conflicting interests. Managing these parts is like managing a household.

Thus, just as we speak of the household economy, we could also speak of the individual economy.

However, we use introspection to analyze this economy. So, we could call it introspective.

Inner Economy — Avoid Paying Too High Prices

When we want something, we have to pay a price for it. It may not be money. But it costs us something. We have to work hard, to give up something, to fight against something, someone, or ourselves, to develop a strategy.

Aristide loved writing and traveling. He was a smart boy, and in high school he got high grades in all subjects. But he didn’t like drawing, and he studied math and physics only to maintain a good average in school. Instead, he enjoyed history and geography. He wrote articles for the school newspaper. His English teacher told him that he was a born journalist.

Aristide disliked things that were too easy and wanted to achieve hard results. He wasn’t interested in being a journalist; he wanted to be an architect.

He attended the faculty of architecture where he had enrolled. Although he had no major problems, he was not interested in this study. But he agreed to study and take exams just because he had to if he wanted to become a famous architect.

Lack of Introspective Economy — Inner Self-Management

He never asked himself what his work as an architect would be like after graduation.

Will he enjoy spending most of the day making drawings, searching for the right materials for his constructions, and doing mathematical calculations?

Would he really enjoy building buildings?

He never asked himself if he wanted to:

• Be an architect and play that character.
• Be an architect and appreciate his work.

There was a lack of introspective economy. He had not compared the price he would pay with what he would receive.,

• doing an uninteresting job
• with the pleasure of writing and traveling.

For proper inner self-management, he should know which part of himself he prefers.

Part of Aristide will enjoy being a public architect. It will also enjoy having succeeded despite the difficulties. That part of him would not feel fulfilled as a journalist. But other parts of him are not happy:

• Dedicating a large part of the day to a job he finds uninteresting.
• Giving up writing.
• Giving up traveling and interviewing people to find out what’s going on.

Aristide has made life difficult for himself. He will have to mediate between his parts, trying to please those who are dissatisfied. He will also have to maintain the enthusiasm of the part he has satisfied. But as time goes on, that enthusiasm may diminish more and more. And his inner performance will also decrease.

Management of Inner Resources

If a company wants to be productive, it must know how to manage its resources well. The same goes for individuals. They must know how to manage well, whether external or internal resources (inner self-management). Aristide’s external resources will be the best if:

• He’ll get a good degree.
• He will have enough money to open an architectural office. His father is a well-known manufacturer in the building materials industry.
• He will have enough knowledge to develop a client base in a short time. But he is not satisfying some of his inner parts, and this will reduce his inner performance and the success of his future activity. Is this a case of inefficient management of his inner resources? — of his talents if we want to refer to the Gospel of Matthew?

Careful introspection, based on economic principles, could clarify the situation. It would provide a key to the best inner self-management.

Luis Pisoni