My vehicle is due for a regular oil change, but I’m not going to change it. My dad taught me how to change the oil in a car when I was 17, but I’m still not going to. Why? Because it would take me a lot more time than it would a professional, it would cause me some amount of stress (both during and after as I second guess whether I’ve messed it up somehow), and frankly, I simply don’t want to. So every ~5,000 miles I pay a professional.
Should I pay someone to do my yardwork? How about clean my house? How about clean my car? How about do my grocery shopping? How about cook my meals? How about do my laundry?
What’s interesting, here in 2023, is that you can outsource just about every chore in your whole life to a stranger. Convenience is a commodity in high supply.
But should convenience get the primacy we often give it? Should we carry my oil-changing line of inquiry on down the list? Have we stopped to consider it might have a price beyond the growing monthly subscription costs associated with it?
Maybe convenience is like donuts. You absolutely should buy it with some regularity in your life, because life is short and donuts and convenience can be delicious. Just be careful to keep your consumption in moderation, because some of the most meaningful things we can do in life are incredibly inconvenient.
Meaningful Returns 