Welcome back to the Rambling Mind Newsletter.
This post is 1789 words, an 9 min read. Enjoy!
In 1911, Britain’s Robert Falcon Scott and Norway’s Roald Amundsen both launched expeditions to reach the South Pole. It would end in victory for Amundsen – and tragedy for Scott.
The success and failure of each man could have been foreseen from their individual preparations. For example the amount of food each crew brought for the voyage:
Amundsen was particularly fastidious in marking the route during the depot laying preparations, they had more frequent food depots, Amundsen depoted three times the amount of food than Scott did. The paraffin fuel used for the stoves "creeps" in cold temperatures, that is, it leaks out of the screw top to the can and evaporates, Amundsen made sure all fuel cans were also soldered closed until they were to be opened leading to no fuel losses.
Scott's team had insufficient food for their needs, they were all in quite a poor state by the time they reached the Pole. Scott ignored the phenomenon of "fuel creep" loss from the paraffin cans even though it was a well-known phenomenon.
One of the reasons we fail when we set goals for ourselves is that we never imagine the possible ways we could fail. We focus too much on things going according to plan but we live in a chaotic world. Nothing ever goes to plan.
This is especially true when it comes to our money. Just because we decided we wanted to get right with our finances doesn't mean the rest of the world agreed with us. More than likely this decision will make life harder in the short term.
To prepare you for some of the hurdles and challenges you will face on this Personal Finance journey, here are 5 of the biggest hurdles I faced when I decided to get my finances in order:
1. Peer/Social Pressure
According to the National Institute on Aging the health risks of prolonged isolation are equivalent to smoking 15 cigarettes a day. Social isolation and loneliness have even been estimated to shorten a person's life span by as many as 15 years.
This is probably the biggest challenge you will face on your personal finance journey because we, humans, are social creatures.
Just because you decided to get your finances in order and better yourself, doesn't mean your friends made the same decision as you. In other words, they expect you to be the same person you've always been. They'll still invite you to the same parties, the same bars, the same restaurants, the same trips, the same shopping, etc. It is on you to set the new pace and new boundaries.
Remember, they are not changing YOU ARE. This will be a painful period based on the type of relationships you have.
In other words, you might be going against your tribe
Solution:
Have the discussions early, explaining what will be happening in the future. They will nod along and be excited but they will not truly understand at that moment.
Learn to say NO and create new boundaries.
Always remind them that you love and care for them but you are in a different stage of life which requires you to do things differently.
SHOW RESULTS of your effort.
Be patient. Great friends always come back around. Unfortunately, there will be some friends you will have to let go of.
Last Resort, Find a new tribe on a similar path as you
2. FOMO - Fear OF Missing Out
We go from outward social pressures. To inward social pressure.
We, humans, are social creatures. We find safety in being with the crowd. The fact that you decided to make a positive change in your life, doesn't mean decades of brain wiring is going to change overnight.
It'll take time for you to get used to the idea that you will miss out on things. There will be inside jokes that you'll miss out on. There will be events, trips, celebrations, and various life moments you'll witness on Instagram but never be a part of in real-time.
This can eat you alive with regret or more likely cause you to give up on the change you seek.
Solution:
Remind yourself of why you are making the changes in your life
Take time to determine the things you absolutely love and find ways to always do those regularly. Ignore everything else
As Greg Mckeown said, "You can do anything but not everything."
Delete social media apps or unfollow accounts that make you feel negative about missing out on events
Trust me you will not miss out on as much as you think
Also, turn off social media notifications that are not direct messages
Unsubscribe from all the various shopping deal emails. Trust me, it will help
In this situation, IGNORANCE IS ABSOLUTELY BLISS!
3. Lack of Knowledge
Oxford dictionary defines Knowledge as "awareness or familiarity gained by experience of a fact or situation."
We mostly confuse information with knowledge. Learning about a subject is not the same as having knowledge of a subject. You have to apply the information learned.
In the world we live in, there is no lack of information on how to improve your finances. However, there is a massive lack of knowledge.
Watching videos, listening to podcast, and reading books or blogs are not enough. You have to do something with the information you learn. Do not confuse entertaining yourself to be the same as making improvements. Never conflate learning to be the same as doing.
There is no substitute for DOING
Solution:
Take Action
Set deadlines for when certain things should be accomplished.
Use the reminder app on your phone or set up calendar alerts to remind you to do things at a time you know you will accomplish them.
Do not overload yourself. Do one thing at a time.
4. Fear of Failure/Mistakes
According to the Cleveland Clinic, "Atychiphobia is an intense fear of failure."
This is not what most of us have.
I believe what most of us fear is CHANGE and the UNKNOWN.
Have you ever been faced with a hard choice that forces you to make a change and then you ask yourself, "Are things really that bad?". As you try to justify your current position?
The human brain loves consistency, it does not like to work hard because that requires a lot of energy. Ever wondered why when you are sitting at a desk working, you get hungry way faster than normal? It is because your brain is the most energy-demanding organ of your body. So it tries to mitigate this intense demand by automating systems.
This is why changing anything is so hard. This is what triggers that fight or flight response which is usually shared as a fear of failure when change is asked of us. (This is not based on research just my personal observations).
The reality is if you don't do something, you are guaranteed to never make any progress.
However, even if failure is what you fear. Failure is part of the journey. Failing is what causes you to learn, grow, and improve. Expect pitfalls and headaches on your journey, remember Amundsen expected his food to deplete faster. It became the strength of his crew. It is reported that his crew actually added weight during their voyage.
Failure and preparing to fail actually make you stronger. So rather than running from failure, embrace it.
Solution:
Find people with a proven track record and copy their ideas. Adjust it to fit your lifestyle.
A nice car, house, bag, chain, shoes, or watch does not classify as a good track record.
They should be able to share with you the steps they took not just how they got lucky. Luck plays a role but their success must be repeatable.
If anything they say seems off-putting or weird, find someone else.
Try different things until you find something that works for you. There is no right answer, there is only what works well for you
I suggest starting with Ramit Sethi.
5. Lack of Consistency
Most of us are more childlike than we would like to admit.
Think of a child who loves oranges, and learns about how an orange seed can produce oranges forever. He is excited and plants an orange seed. He expects the tree will be grown the next day. He wakes up excited the next morning but sees no tree or oranges. He decides I need to change something right now. So he digs up the seed and replants elsewhere.
We are the exact same way with our goals.
We lack the patience to allow things to grow over time. We expect immediate results.
Solution:
Create a plan and stick to it
Expect things to take longer than you expect
Enjoy every small victory on your journey.
Avoid Get Rich Quick Schemes
If it sounds too good to be true, TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS!
Play the long game
Ignore the allure and noise of the crowd.
BONUS - ENVY
Charlie Munger said it best, “The world is not driven by greed. It's driven by envy,”
As you begin on this road, you will regularly see others succeeding and advancing while you seem to be stuck at the same level. You will feel behind regularly. It will especially be painful when you see people succeeding at things that you believe you are just as good if not better than them doing. It can breed envy within you and contempt for people around you.
Never fall into this. It is a dark and hopeless place to be in.
Solution:
As Jalen Rose says, "Appreciate your position while plotting your promotion."
Practice gratitude in your current position while putting your head down and working as hard as you can towards your goal.
Celebrate other’s winning and then learn what you can from them.
I hope that by sharing some of these hurdles and challenges, you will be prepared when they show up. Wishing you all the best in 2023.
GENEROSITY > greed
✌🏾
Recommended Reads
Morgan Housel Justifies Optimism. A great read for why we should remain optimistic but challenges the typical way optimism is spoken about.
Jiab Wasserman from HumbleDollar shares some of the Best Career Advice I have read in a while.