Each year we reflect on what went well for the year, what could be better, and how we will improve in the following year. Some of the reflections are financial, some are based on improving quality of life, and others are around giving back to the community.
In my reflection this year, my heart is full of gratitude for the lives we touched at SeedSafe Financial. We partnered with our clients to stay the course towards better finances in 2023, and that’s a big deal to me!
Although 2023 did not include the start of a pandemic, or fumbling through what that means in a ‘new world’, the year had its own challenges. Rising interest rates, layoffs, and a stumbling stock market felt heavy at times and caused many to pause and ask the questions:
How long will this last?
Does this change big financial decisions I want to make?
Where do we go from here?
Each year I hear these questions asked in year end meetings and it reminds me that life is full of unpredictable changes that will test our resolve. The best way to stay the course is through a long term vision, reviewing plans, and creating priorities on an ongoing basis.
Build a long term vision of life
What is your most fulfilling life? What are you doing in your most fulfilled life? How are you feeling? Where do you lean towards in this life?
We often skip right over our life vision and the purpose of money. We may go straight to financial tactics: reading up on investment and tax strategies or the ‘top 5 things to do’. We forget – money is a tool to facilitate a meaningful life.
Money may mean different things to different people – comfort, security, freedom, anxiety. It’s how we use money towards our life vision that makes an outsized impact.
Changes happen every year and our vision can lead us through it. Your vision of your life should be your anchor and color all decisions (financial or not) that come your way.
With a vision of your life and the values you want to lean into, the next step is building financial flexibility towards that vision.
Knowing my long term vision of life, how do I feel about last year?
Work and life ebb and flow – some years you will have more time and energy to focus and some years less energy.
Review your time and energy over the last year. What gave you more energy? What took away energy? How can you bring more energy to your life?
An enlightening exercise, The Wheel of Life, reviews major areas of a fulfilled life and asks you to assess how you are doing in those areas. This can help you think more about what needs attention and time in the coming year and longer term.
As humans, we can (too) easily find ways we want to improve our lives. Sometimes this is for ourselves, but sometimes it is what we ‘think’ we need to be happy. Too often we can end up on the hamster-wheel of life. Few on their deathbed wish they had more money.
One caregiver wrote about the experience of working with those towards the end of life and the regrets they had. In The Top Five Regrets of the Dying, Bronnie Ware writes about the regrets:
1) “I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.”
2) “I wish I hadn’t worked so hard.”
3) “I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings.”
4) “I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.”
5) “I wish I had let myself be happier”
It takes time and energy to live a life true to yourself, surrounded by those you love, and free from the ‘keeping up with the Jones’ attitude.
Where can I lean into this year?
Now that you have your long term vision, reviewed last year and identified where you want to grow towards…what could possibly get in the way? 🙂
What can you make a priority this year? How will you make it a priority? Creating SMART goals rears its head again! If you only have so much time and energy, then how you use it will make the biggest difference.
What can you remove from life that keeps you from a fulfilling life?
What can you lean into towards your most fulfilled life?
Considering your time
Each year I review my calendar and rate the activities and events I was part of. What got me closer to my most fulfilled life? What took away from it?
Knowing this, what can I do now to make next year even better? It may include blocking out more days for creative work or scheduling out friend gatherings. I love to host board game nights so I am penciling in those nights now.
Considering your energy
I am by nature an over-doer. I want to do ‘all the things’ and find energy from a jam packed life, but even I have my limits. What helps build your energy? What takes away from it?
Are there activities that ‘must be done’? Who else can do them?
Often I find our clients come to us because they know finances are important, but finances just are not on their priority list in life…and that’s okay!
If money is stressful, anxiety inducing or just ‘not fun’, why would you put more energy into it? This may be an ideal place to begin to outsource and have a thinking partner that helps with money decisions.
The same may go for cleaning your home or cooking. If you don’t enjoy it and you could use that time towards a more fulfilling life, then what can be done to reduce these activities? For some, this may be buying a smaller home, reducing material things, or hiring a cleaning service.
For those who don’t have time to cook or have no desire to, it may mean hiring a meal prep service or buying ‘ready made’ frozen meals.
Each of us are individuals that deserve to be happier, healthier, and living our most fulfilled life.
If you go through the exercise of envisioning your most fulfilled life and find finances are something you want to change, please schedule a chat with us.
We wish you a beautiful holiday season!
The above discussion is for informational purposes only. Recommendations are of a general nature, not based on knowledge of any individual’s specific needs or circumstances, and there is no intent to provide individual investment advisory, supervisory or management services.
