Our life energy is more real in our actual experience than money. You could even say money equals life energy. So, while money has no intrinsic reality, our life energy does — at least to us. It’s tangible, and it’s finite. Life energy is all we have. It is precious because it is limited and irretrievable and because our choices about how we use it express the meaning and purpose of our time here on Earth. I've settled in to work for a non-profit company that is generally balanced between income, responsibilities and its impact on my own personal life. I'm working on clearing away the debt created from choosing to allow another to control my finances. I've realized that I feel secure when there is money in the bank that is just there to cover emergencies and that is there to fund my needs in the future (my first car without a car payment, hopefully!) My financial strategy has also moved past the day-to-day in regards to planning and saving for retirement. It’s my belief that a strong personal economy is still built on fundamentals such as these: Enjoy what you read at Taking Care Of You?
This post is part of the Fearless Living Series, whose posts serve to spotlight areas of your life where fear may be holding you back and to motivate you to find a plan to use in squelching that fear. As long as fear hinders or motivates you, Taking Care Of You will not be a priority in your life.
As Leo Babauta of Zen Habits said so well, "When you take action on a problem, it’s not so bad — it’s just a series of steps you need to take to solve the problem...The plan will kill the fear. It is taking something that is scary and unknown, and turning it into something concrete, solvable, doable."
Fear is such a life drainer. Do not give your power over to fear. Instead, use that fear as a catalyst to prompt you into action. Are you ready to take your power back and experience Taking Care Of You through fearless living?
I used to think of my employment as having to continually earn more money for me so I could spend more money. About the time that I began moving forward financially in my life, my awareness had also recently shifted. Now what I believe is that there is more to it than just that alone. I also am choosing what to spend my life energy on.From Your Money or Your Life: Money is something we choose to trade our life energy for. Our life energy is our allotment of time here on earth, the hours of precious life available to us. When we go to our jobs we are trading our life energy for money. [...]
In the first Moving Forward Financially post, your top priority was to take the time to appreciate who you were in the past, realize that the choices you made were the best you could do at the time and forgive yourself. This step is to sweep aside all of that past stuff and prepare yourself for moving forward. When it comes to your finances, there is no looking back at the job choices you've made, the money you've spent, etc. It's all past tense; there isn't anything you can do to change them. What you do have the ability to change is from today going forward.
At the end of the post, your 'assignment' was to use this new 'clean slate' feeling to decide on how you wished to proceed and decide on your plan for what comes next financially. Specifically, to do your research and look at the numerous methods for acquiring, saving and spending money so that you could find the financial strategy that does work for you---that motivates you, utilizes your strengths, does not work against you, etc.--and move forward on it!
If you still haven't yet poked around the internet a bit and tried to develop your own financial strategy, below are a few links that have helped me. Maybe they will give you the inspiration you need for moving forward.
My strategy is best said by J.D. Roth of Get Rich Slowly. Here it is.
"If you don't have any financial objectives or goals, you'll likely spend most of your life aimlessly earning and spending and making little traction in the process", says Money Saving Mom Crystal Paine.
The following from Trent Hamm at The Simple Dollar is a 2-for-1 covering creating your own small emergency fund and eliminating/avoiding high interest debt. Be sure to follow the links in the post too!
Save more money by doing less using The Two-Headed Savings Approach by Ramit Sethi.
It may feel like you're throwing your money away but keep investing says Generation X Finance.
In conclusion, I leave you with Your Money: The Rules from It's Your Money! and Financial Serenity--The Missing Ingredient by Neal Frankle.
Until next time...Take Care Of You!
Photo Credit: Fear In The Eye
Photo Credit: Moving On Up
Photo Credit: Thinking About Money
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Moving Forward Financially: Part 2
Fearless Living: Moving Forward Financially
This post is part of the Fearless Living Series, whose posts serve to spotlight areas of your life where fear may be holding you back and to motivate you to find a plan to use in squelching that fear. As long as fear hinders or motivates you, Taking Care Of You will not be a priority in your life.
As Leo Babauta of Zen Habits said so well, "When you take action on a problem, it’s not so bad — it’s just a series of steps you need to take to solve the problem...The plan will kill the fear. It is taking something that is scary and unknown, and turning it into something concrete, solvable, doable."
Fear is such a life drainer. Do not give your power over to fear. Instead, use that fear as a catalyst to prompt you into action. Are you ready to take your power back and experience Taking Care Of You through fearless living?
Doing Anything Is Better Than Nothing
Something I've heard before keeps coming to mind: If we keep doing what we're doing, we'll keep getting what we've got. I don't know if the attribution I found was correct but I'm sure you might have heard something similar before. It's a simple statement that serves to remind us that action produces results.
What results are your current actions producing?
- Are you just getting by?
- Are you feeling so overwhelmed that you ignore every chance that comes up allowing you to proceed down a different financial path?
- Are you working a plan that is working well for you?
- Are you afraid?
Ah, there's the truth; fear stops you from taking action on handling your finances. Each of us will not share the exact same fear, however, most of us live with some sort of fear about money. Do you fear not having enough? Or fear that you can't recover from the mismanagement you've done to date? Is your fear that you should be doing better managing your investments? Or fear the responsibility of managing it at all?
The Only Thing Stopping You Is You
For every contradiction that you could provide to that statement, I could counter each one. However, it would be a useless exercise because each stems from that same belief; the only thing stopping you from moving forward financially is you.
For example, here are a few common thoughts we use as roadblocks:
- Waiting for "the right time"...No such thing exists.
- Worrying about the perceptions of others...You are only responsible for yourself and accountable to yourself.
- Life is unfair...Life is just biology; you are the one that defines it in any other way.
What Do I Mean By Moving Forward Financially?
Just that. When it comes to your finances, there is no looking back at the job choices you've made, the money you've spent, etc. It's all past tense; there isn't anything you can do to change them. What you do have the ability to change is from today going forward.Your top priority is to appreciate who you were, realize that the choices you made were the best you could do at the time and forgive yourself. Although looking back may feel like you are moving backwards, you are not. You are simply showing yourself love, patience and grace. This step is to sweep aside all of that past stuff and prepare yourself for moving forward. Do not keep rehashing the past because that will not, I repeat not, ever move you forward.
The present is all you need concern yourself with and this "in the moment thinking" will make you unstoppable, if you allow it.
Think about it. If you move forward with the thoughts and feelings of love for yourself and the positive feelings of excitement towards where you are heading, why would you even want to create those roadblocks? Instead, you will more likely only see bumps that might need a little navigating to get over, under or around but will never block you.
Find Your Plan and Move Forward
Where you go from here is up to you. What is your plan? Are you going to ease into this change through a babystep approach by choosing a small first step to work on and proceed slowly from there? Are you going to create a megalist of everything that needs changing and start working down the list? Maybe you're somewhere in the middle. Regardless, as long as you realize that the only "must do" is to move forward, you will be successful.
After deciding on your basic strategy, do your research and look at the numerous methods for acquiring, saving and spending money. Find the financial strategy that does work for you---that motivates you, utilizes your strengths, does not work against you, etc.--and move forward on it!
If you give it some time and find that the strategy you are pursing does not suit you as well as you'd thought, repeat the process. Life is not stagnant. It has an ebb and flow; a changing of seasons. A plan that is not working for you is a signal for a new season to begin. Recognize it and continue to move forward.
Until next time...Take Care Of You!
Photo Credit: Fear In The Eye
Photo Credit: Dollar Sign In Eye
Copyright © 2009 by tcoyou.com | all rights reserved
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Introducing: the Fearless Living Series
It is said that the opposite of fear is love. As long as fear hinders or motivates you, Taking Care Of You will not be a priority in your life.
To me...
Love is secure. Fear is anxious.
Love is accepting. Fear is rejecting.
Love is receptive. Fear is close-minded.
Fear has its place in life, however, it is you who allows it to have the power it does or not have. For the most part, fearless people do know and feel fear. However, they do not give their power over to the fear. Instead, the fear is a catalyst that prompts action.
From Zen Habits:"When you take action on a problem, it’s not so bad — it’s just a series of steps you need to take to solve the problem. You aren’t paralyzed anymore when you start to take action...The plan will kill the fear. It is taking something that is scary and unknown, and turning it into something concrete, solvable, doable."
This is a great post that presented the issue of fears lurking in our mind AND what to do about it. Love that.
It also illustrates the philosophy I believe in. I've begun to recite Leo's words, "The plan will kill the fear", when trying to sell the concept of continuing to move forward, even if fearful, to myself and to others.
In upcoming posts called the "Fearless Living Series", I'll spotlight areas of our life where fear may be holding us back and outline possible plans to use in squelching that fear.
Fear is such a life drainer. Take your power back and experience Taking Care Of You through fearless living.
Until next time...Take Care Of You!
Copyright © 2009 by tcoyou.com | all rights reserved
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Enjoy what you read at Taking Care Of You?
It's easy to receive free updates by email or RSS.
Is a question lingering on your mind? What are your thoughts on this topic?
Leave a comment and let us know.
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