It’s pretty neat that we as a species have this innate ability to denote value to different things. What’s even more special is that we have the choice in deciding that value for ourselves. Let me explain.

I was finishing up an excellent read a few months ago, one that I highly recommend, called Start by Jon Acuff (I’m sure that I’ve mentioned it here before). It chronicles the road to “Awesome,” or at least your dream of it, and takes you through the steps to get there. One thing in particular that I recall standing out to me ever so long ago, and I find myself thinking about it even more today, is this idea of what we choose to value.

Diamonds are valuable, yes? Sure they are. They’re rare, they’re pretty, they’re shiny, they sparkle; they’re little itty-bitty pieces of perfect that (as a man) you will one day need to fork over some serious coin for (unless you plan on sleeping on the couch for the rest of your life). But do you know what a diamond really is?

It’s a rock.

Well, I guess technically it’s a mineral (I’m no doctor or anything), but I know from my recent studies at Wikipedia that diamonds are “brought close to the Earth′s surface through deep volcanic eruptions by a magma, which cools into igneous rocks known as kimberlites and lamproites.”

So… it’s just a rock, then. Right? I mean, volcanos and magma and igneous blittery blah blah is great and all… It’s all super interesting and I agree – a rare and beautiful thing that occurs naturally thanks to Mother Nature! But so is quartz. So is graphite. So are a bunch of different minerals and rocks that take a millennia to form under the earth’s surface. My point is this:

What makes a rock a rock and a diamond a diamond?

You might say “rocks are common but diamonds are rare,” or “diamonds are flawless while rocks are imperfect,” or “it costs more money so it must be better…”

Each of these are a different answer entirely, and that’s the coolest part. A diamond is a diamond because someone decided that it was for whichever reason they liked – and enough people agreed. Maybe it was the sum of all those answers combined, and perhaps a few more, but somewhere we were sold on the idea of a diamond being superior. Some would call that marketing 🙂

Who decided that a diamond is a girl’s best friend? Who told everyone that a diamond is forever? Why do diamonds take her breath away?

If you’re actually interested in the answer to this question check out this article from the NY Times called How Americans Learned to Love Diamonds.

I’m not trying to argue the value of diamonds or change the way that the world looks at them. I’m just using this illustration to prove a point: What are your diamonds and what are you rocks? Or in other words, what are you looking at in your life that you’re choosing to see as shiny, sparkly, rare and perfect – and what are you choosing to see as just a rock? They’re both just minerals and stones from the ground (somehow), but why is one more special to you than the other?

Now here’s the kicker; if you’re calling something a diamond, are you paying full price for it? Because if you’re calling it a diamond but treating it like a rock, valuing it like a rock, paying for it like a rock, then it’s not really a diamond to you. It’s just another rock. And you’re fooling yourself.

Hopefully your spouse or your children or your family are a diamond to you; a precious gem that is invaluable to you. Are you spending the kind of time with them that this diamond deserves? Are you making them a priority?

If the answer is no then you’re not taking care of your diamond.

Many of us call music and bass playing a diamond. We say things like, “I wish I could play more,” or “I wish I had more time to practice,” or “I wish I could play like ________.” Well, are you paying the price for this diamond? Are you forking out as many hours of study as you can afford? Is the time you spend in the moments moments of making music invaluable to you? Are you putting the kind of effort into your music that a diamond deserves?

If the answer is no, then again, it must be just a rock to you.

I’m not saying that diamonds are dumb or overrated or useless… On the contrary, we need diamonds. We need something to attach value to and strive for and spend our lives trying to earn; that’s almost what gives us a sense of purpose day in and day out. Diamonds are great. I’m just saying two things:

1) What are you calling a diamond, and what are you calling a rock?

2) Are you treating them as such.

Don’t give your rocks top priority in your life and don’t let your diamonds fall short of their magnificence. You need both, and the greatest thing is that you have the choice in deciding which is which.