Our brains are wired to think, “What if this doesn’t work out?!?”
What if I go broke and end up out on the street like a hobo?
What if he/she finds out who I really am and dumps me like a hot potato?
What if I never figure out what I want to do with my life?
What if he dies and I am left all alone?
It’s okay to think those thoughts.
Our brains are just trying to prepare and protect us.
But we can use the executive part of our brain to balance the alarmist part of our noggins.
When alarms are going off in your head, that’s the time to gently ask yourself,
“What if it all works out?
What does that look like?
Sound like?
Feel like?”
Ground yourself in that sensation.
Chances are good the universe is working in your favor.
If you want to change your financial trajectory, stop asking $3 questions.
Questions like, “Ellen, can I have a latte every day and still have the rich life I want?”
Or, “Is it okay if I have Netflix AND Hulu?”
Yes, those little things add up.
But when you spend all your energy on $3 questions, you aren’t focused on things that could save you tens of thousands of dollars.
When you are fighting with your partner over buying the expensive brand of beer, you miss the fact that you are paying 90% of your expenses on fixed costs like housing and insurance, leaving you one paycheck away from a financial pickle.
When you are spending your time driving across town to save ten cents a gallon on gas, you probably aren’t spending your time educating yourself on how to invest for your retirement.
It’s micro thinking about a macro problem.
And don’t get me wrong… I love a great find at Goodwill. But the next time you are sweating the small stuff, take a breath and ask yourself what you would like to change about the big picture.
How much are you willing to pay to avoid being uncomfortable? $5,000? $10,000? $100,000?
Because that’s exactly what you are doing if you avoid asking for a raise because you are worried what your boss will say.
In a different way, I realized that’s what I have been doing all week. I did an experiment a year ago and moved some investments into managed accounts and now I am going to move them back out into accounts I manage.
So, my financial planner won’t be making any money… or nearly as much… from my accounts.
I have been avoiding signing up for a meeting with him.I am worried about how he will try to talk me into staying.
I am worried he will suggest a different kind of investment that I will have to research… putting off the change.
None of the results will hurt me mentally or physically. (Although my reptilian brain is trying to convince me of exactly that.)
Underneath it all, what I am really trying to avoid is a physical sensation in my body.
I am trying to avoid a sour tension in my stomach and a tight neck.
I am trying to avoid the physical sensation that goes with anxiety and shame.
But when I take a breath and think about it, it’s not that bad.
It’s just a physical sensation that lasts for maybe 90 seconds.
I am happy to feel that discomfort for a few minutes to make/save tens of thousands of dollars in the long run.
Sounds like a good trade-off.
Let me go schedule that discomfort so I can feel rich.