Can We Talk? Part II
Friday, June 20, 2008
As I mentioned in my last column, in our Let’sTalk Game events we teach that two of the essential actions for financial success are talking about money and tracking it. We also assert that these are the top two areas of greatest resistance, and in encouraging people to break through that resistance, have found it helpful to distinguish what we mean by “talking and tracking.”
When it comes to talking about money, we emphasize productive conversation. In other words, no more kidding or crying about it: only take on the subject when you’re committed to improving your circumstances.
When we talk about the critical skill of tracking your money, while we certainly advocate for budgets and the like, we’re stressing first that you claim a clear vision of your highest potential, and then track to what degree you are financially aligned with it.
For instance, if you’ve decided that your highest personal potential as a parent is to “show up” strong, creative, and supportive, and what’s preventing that is the stress of not being financially aware, it doesn’t mean you’re a bad parent, just financially out of whack with your higher purpose. If you commit to making financial decisions that support the greater good as a family instead of letting your decisions be driven by guilt or convenience, you’ll soon find yourself happily back in touch with your money.
This means defining what you want your life to look like, and then creating the means—financially and otherwise—to make it happen.
So when you operate financially from a place of vision and commitment, you’re more likely to track your progress from a practical perspective. Budgeting then becomes a power tool instead of a whip, and something that is not only necessary, but welcome.
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Isn’t it interesing that we’re so consumed with doing things for everyone else that we fail to take stock of what we’d like to do for ourselves. It’s like putting on your own oxygen mask before you try to help anyone else. Taking stock is like breathing in that pure oxygen.