“You cannot carry out fundamental change without a certain amount of madness”
Thomas Sankara
I have this weird habit of starting my new year’s resolutions the November, before the new year. I know, a little weird but hear me out.
I noticed that whenever I set out to start my annual “grand” goals in the new year, I just lost steam by March of that year.
No matter my best intentions and willing myself to stick to the goals I set for myself, I just never made any major traction.
I would easily lose my mojo by the first quarter of the year, right on queue.
So, one year I thought let me jump to the front of the line and start things before the end of the year, specifically in November.
By October I was done with the goal setting and implementation started in November. I noticed two things:
1. Reinforcing of a habit & gaining momentum
I was able to get into the rhythm of things easily well before the new year and thus forming the habits I needed to achieve the set goals.
Even when I lost my way a little as is prone, especially during the holidays I was able to bounce back easily.
It was a small blip in my journey and I was able to easily recover because I had already formed the requisite habits and momentum well before the new year.
2. Setting achievable goals
It became easy to make achievable goals as opposed to the grandiose goals I would usually set because of the euphoria of the year’s end.
You will agree with me that goals set in the middle of high adrenaline moments will most often be unattainable.
You know those dreams of losing 50kgs in 3 months and saving USD 1Million in 6 months….. okay, okay am messing with you! but you get the drift.
I had time to reflect and strategize on what could be achieved and what was building castles in the air.
Achievability allowed me to have staying power and determination when things got tough, as they usually do.
I did this for 2 consecutive years and I managed to have the wherewithal to stick with the resolutions till the next October! I was soooo excited and so became my philosophy on new year resolutions….
That for me to achieve my annual goals I would make and start on them 2 months before the year-end…. Like I said it is weird but it works.
Today we are chatting about habits and specifically the philosophies that shape our relationship with money, as part of our new years’ resolutions
What is your money habit/ philosophy?
The answer to this question will help shape your mindset through the wealth creation journey.
How we perceive money to be, it doesn’t matter the amount, can make or destroy us and in the process sabotage us from achieving or propel us towards financial freedom.
Our fears, hopes, and dreams are reflected in how we relate to money.
Most of the time our philosophy around money is shaped by what we see throughout our childhood.
As we grow older, we unconsciously adopt the money philosophy of those around us and what we saw them do with the money they had.
So what is a money habit? It is the attitude that shapes our behavior towards money.
For some of us, money is a tool that is used to accomplish our set goals and dreams in which case we put money to use, to accomplish our goals.
This is done by the use of tools such as a budget. Which helps us make achievable goals.
When we are well disciplined and our relationship with money is healthy, then we do not struggle with budgeting and setting aside money for savings and investments.
There are two extreme philosophies around money that are unhealthy.
First off, there is the hoarding mentality. This stems from fear of lacking and poverty. So, any amount of money you get, you keep as much of it as is extremely possible.
The hoarder may have been affected earlier on in their childhood, perhaps by growing up in poverty and lack.
When the hoarder grows up and does not adjust his mindset towards money then he tends to keep the money even from himself and his family.
Even when he can afford to splurge a bit and enjoy life’s little pleasures, he can’t seem to let loose.
I know you must have heard stories of such a miser who lived a miserable life only to die and people discover he had millions in his bank account.
The second unhealthy money mindset can be summarized as the YOLO (You Only Live Once) syndrome.
This is the polar opposite of a hoarder because in this case, we can’t spend the money fast enough. The minute you get money in your bank account, it seems to start a fire that can only be extinguished when your bank account reads nil.
So you are always on a spending spree that you obviously have not planned well for.
This kind of money mindset is unhealthy as it makes it difficult to create wealth when you do not respect the tool you need to progress.
Incidentally, I don’t know if it is just me but have you noticed that most of the people who win the lottery almost always fall under this category?
I am convinced sometimes it’s because of people-pleasing and hoping that money can buy friendship and other kinds of relationships which of course is false.
For you who is intentional about wealth creation, it is important to find out what your money philosophy is and more importantly what shapes it.
Hopefully it will become easier to make our new year’s resolution about acquiring good money habits and find a “method to the madness” of saving and investing, if you will.
From my experience, know that you don’t have to have a “conventional” philosophy around making resolutions do your weird, however you need to so long as it works for you.
I’m cheering you on today, let’s be weird, and make wealth in the process! Also please remember to sign up to access your free budgeting tool.