Putting It All Into Perspective
August 12, 2013The real purpose of the financial planning process is often lost when we focus on just the specific elements of a plan such as budgeting, eliminating debt, investing, minimizing taxes, and saving for retirement. Financial planning is more than these things. It’s actually the process of aligning our financial resources with our life goals, values, and vision for the future.
Unfortunately, the reality is that many financial plans fail before they really ever get started. It’s very easy to get lost in the details and often more confusing trying to figure out where to get started. Change is difficult and procrastination (or complete avoidance) is easier when our money is involved.
Did you know that only about one out of ten people are able to sustain lifestyle changes two years after heart surgery? Sustained financial change can be just as difficult if we don’t have meaningful goals in place to give our money a greater purpose. Perhaps what makes financial changes so difficult is the fact that we tend to allow emotions rather than logic to drive our financial decisions.
I’m not by any means an avid social media user and I usually don’t have enough time in the day to check Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn on a regular basis. But a few months ago, a heartwarming story caught my attention and provided me with some much needed perspective as I was trying to work with a few individuals who were reluctant to make change in their financial lives. It was the story of a young man named Zach Sobiech who at the time was battling osteosarcoma, a rare and terminal form of bone cancer. If you’ve seen his story or similar “My Last Days” features posted by Soul Pancake, you probably know it’s a little hard to watch the whole thing without reaching for some tissues to dry your eyes.
This young man’s story was incredibly touching because of the way that he lived, not the way that he died. When he found out that he had months to live, he released the inspirational song “Clouds.” Millions of viewers have watched the song on YouTube and at one point, it was the most downloaded song on iTunes.
Why is this story relevant to the financial life planning discussion? Zach Sobiech’s journey provides much needed perspective in a complex world full of distractions, some more important than others but most are simply just distractions from things that are at our heart’s core. In a previous blog post, I presented some important financial life planning questions that are meant to do more than force us to think about our own mortality. These questions are designed to help us explore the possibilities in life, prioritize how we utilize our financial resources, and think about any regrets that may linger if dreams go unfulfilled.
Don’t wait until you’re dying to start living. As a music lover, I was inspired by Zach Sobiech’s passion for life. I never met the young man, but that didn’t stop me and countless others from feeling connected to his story. Perhaps if everyone approached their financial plans with such a strong sense of purpose and focus then it would be a little easier to create sustainable change in our financial lives.
We all have things in our financial lives that concern us but stories like this help provide a little perspective on what really matters the most. When we take the time to take inventory of our own values and priorities, it becomes a little bit easier to minimize the impact of these day-to-day stressors. (Here is an online values inventory you can use to assess if your actions align with your values across various aspects of your life.)
So live life to the fullest and focus on the things that matter the most. Don’t wait for a life changing event to change your perspective on how you prioritize your time, talents, and financial resources. Whether you are struggling to make ends meet or simply trying to figure out the best way to build or protect your treasure, it helps to give your financial matters a sense of meaning and purpose.
Some guy took the time to count nearly 30,000 jelly beans as a representation of the average days in a person’s lifetime. When you look at the time that’s left after factoring in your daily routines, you can visualize the small window of time available to spend with friends and family, live with passion or chase your dreams. What are you going to do with the time you have left? When I look at the inspirational lessons learned from a teenage rock star, I realize that it’s time for me to put an end to my own procrastination and turn my financial life plans into actions.