Personal and Social Assets

Personal and social assets (which we refer to simply as personal assets) compose the row that we are least likely to think of as part of our investment choices, and for that reason we’ll invest a few more words in this section! Though it's off our investment radar, this is humanity's oldest asset class and is still the one in which many of us are most actively engaged. Here we take care of ourselves—mind, heart, body, and soul—as well as nurture the web of social relationships that define us: partner, family, neighborhood, school, church, community, culture, country, and even global social networks.

Our social, interpersonal relationships are an essential kind of wealth that cannot be ignored; they require dedicated investment to reap the human returns that we each need in our life. We all have many examples in our personal lives of the ways that friends, family, and professional, recreational, or faith networks have carried us through our times of greatest need. In the face of the complexity and uncertainty that we are addressing throughout this book, these personal assets are likely to be the most stable and valuable form of investment that most of us hold. Best of all, they tend to reap the highest returns when times are rough.

Volunteering at a local soup kitchen, joining advocacy groups and getting active in politics, and pitching in at your kid's school—all are ways to invest and grow your personal assets. It is widely accepted that altruistic and charitable actions not only help the intended recipient but also give the donor substantial benefits ranging from stress reduction to being held in higher esteem in the community.

Lifestyle choices can build these assets, as well. This might be simple things like working in your garden or learning to do your own plumbing repair, activities that build your personal assets (enjoyment and skills) while adding to your tangible assets (nicer home) and conserving financial assets. How do you want to invest your leisure time? Does a little voice in your head whisper that it's time to make a career change? One corollary of complexity is that we now have many more choices, over more aspects of life, than any generation that came before us. This means we have more decisions to make, but it also provides us with more opportunities to shape our lives in very personal ways.

The same is true for your family; giving generously of your time, money, and attention to encourage their interests and growth will have a positive impact on your life as well as theirs. Sharing music and the arts, exploring and learning about nature by hiking and camping together, supporting their education and personal development—all will show rich returns in your relationships and in the lives of your kids as they come of age. For those with the means, taking even one trip abroad to show American children what life is like for people in other countries is a powerful reality check that can foster a feeling of gratitude and appreciation for their own lives as well as a social consciousness that can guide them toward ethical choices.

And then there's the really personal: taking care of yourself. Here are your most internal investments: diet and exercise choices that foster health, education, and lifelong learning in a range of forms as well as spiritual nourishment and growth. Sometimes taking a walk is all you need to regain some perspective; at those times that walk is the best investment you can make. Other times you might really need to buckle down and learn some new skills, or dedicate time to healing a chronic condition.

Again, these are the kinds of investment decisions we make all the time, but by being mindful of the choices we’re making we can become more aware of how they support, or do not support, the goals we’re pursuing with our other assets.

Putting energy into your community, improving your relationship skills, participating in both real-world and online networks relevant to your interests—all are ways to strengthen the personal and social elements of a resilient life. When you invest time and money in things you believe in, the intangible returns that flow back can often outshine the financial returns that are overemphasized in our society. Forming and growing these connections builds your social capital, a value term that even economists can appreciate.

Finally, many people find essential meaning by cultivating their spiritual life. One of the bounties of living in these times is our access to a wide range of wisdom traditions sourced from many cultures and eras. Organized religion falls into this realm, as do both secular and nonsecular meditative practices. Or perhaps you prefer engagement with nature as a restorative and balancing force. There are many paths, but by acknowledging and connecting to a greater whole within which one's own life plays out, and learning to quiet the chatter of our minds, we can find ourselves gaining in both purpose and direction.

In fact, many of the authors who have been thinking about this age of complexity are strong advocates of investing time and energy into one's spiritual life, citing returns that include cultivating a grounded sense of equanimity and calmness as well as the development of capacities for insight and integration, essential qualities that will always be there for us as we head into the unknowable future.

It is appropriate that this forms the top row of our map, as many of us tend to downplay the importance of nurturing what integral theory philosopher Ken Wilber terms our “interiors.” By embracing personal assets as something you actually invest in, resilient investing has embedded within itself the practice of considering these essential realms whenever we make important decisions about our future.