Investment - Ch. 8 pg. 198.

The book says...

• Investments are the things that "we put into relationships that we couldn't retrieve if the relationship were to end."
• "Investments can't be recovered, so the only way to reap the benefits of our [them] is to stick with a relationship"; to leave is to lose the investment we've made.
• Sensing "equality of investment affects satisfaction with romantic relationships"; sensing unfairness of investment slowly destroys satisfaction and communication in romantic relationships.

How I understand the concept...

• Investments aren't just money you put into a business or shares of stock. You can invest in people as well.
• There's so much that we put into relationships, especially serious ones. It's as if we're planting a seed. We care and nurture it to reap the harvest. Same goes for relationships that we invest in. The investment is the caring and nurturing, and sticking to the relationship is where we reap the harvest.
• If we leave the relationship all of our investment goes down the drain. We can't get the time, money, emotions, etc back.
• If both partakers of the relationship feel that they're investing equally into their relationship, they'll both be satisfied. However, if one of the partakers feel as if they're putting in more investment than the other they'll be unsatisfied and that's where conflicts will occurr.

Application to my life...

• I apply this concept to my life by investing in relationships (friendships, romantic relationships, etc), only if I feel that we both can reap some sort of benefit from each other. Like if we both better each other.
• For example:  I dated this one guy for a year and a half before I finally had to break it off. He said he loved me, but he wouldn't put anything in the relationship. I gave so much (always accommodating him, doing things for him, etc.) but he didn't do the same for me. It was like a one-way street with him, and I felt like I was bettering him, but he wasn't bettering me.

Additional info...

This is a happy couple, or at least they appear to be happy. It seems as if they both equally invest in their relationship to keep the other happy. If one wasn't happy they wouldn't be investing equally.