Have you fallen off the “Why Wagon”?

A very dear friend reached out to tell me she was hosting a 14-Day Examine Your Why Challenge. I graciously accepted the challenge. Truth be told, this challenge came at a very good time for me. You see, I’ve fallen off the “why wagon”. My poor blog has been neglected. I have been suffering from shiny object syndrome. Running from here to there, trying to be everything to every one and I lost sight of my mission. Has this ever happened to you?

Little did I know that when I accepted my friends challenge, it would be more than just examining my “why”. I felt called to begin writing on my blog again. Day 1 already has me thankful that I decided to examine my “why”. Here are some thoughts that came out of my time of reflection:

What are the 3 biggest barriers keeping you from reaching your ultimate dream?

I took a while to reflect on this. Here’s what I came up with.

1. Comparison Syndrome: We’ve all heard the adage that “comparison is the thief of joy”. This has become a hindrance for me. I’ve been so busy focusing on how far others have come, that I was beating myself up for my perceived lack of progress. If it holds true that where focus goes, energy flows. Then it would stand to reason why my “flow” wasn’t where it needed to be. My focus was on comparing someone else’s highlight reel to my every day life.
2. Lack of Kindness: Showing kindness to others comes naturally to me. Those who know me are aware that my favorite saying is “Love always wins”. Somewhere along the way, I stopped applying that principle to myself. I have been guilty of not showing kindness to myself. Let’s face it, you can’t berate yourself skinny, rich, or into any other goal you want to achieve. I need to remember to treat myself with the same love and compassion that I would show others. Self-love is where I will start.
3. Clarity: I was lacking clarity of my goal or big dream. I consider myself to be multi-passionate. Meaning that there are many things I am interested in and many things I excel in. Having been in leadership so long, I know that without clarity of purpose, we cannot achieve the goal. I can’t give my team hazy directions with multiple #1 priorities. So, why was I allowing myself to fall into this trap of scatterbrained goal setting? I had to take a step back and as myself what my #1 goal was, then refocus all of my efforts on attaining that 1 goal.

I appreciate this challenge for giving me the kick in the pants I need to get back on track. I’m excited to see what the next 2 weeks brings. Have you been lacking focus? Do you need a kick in the pants? Let us know what you do when you’ve fallen off the “why wagon”.

Spending versus Investing: There is a difference

If you want to have more money or wealth in the future, then you need to know all you can about spending and investing. At a level, spending and investing is the same thing because they both require that something leaves your hand which can be cash. However, when you’re investing, you get back returns in the future. It could be financial returns or assets.

Investment is tailored towards getting something of financial quality in the future. It is spending as well, but you’re spending with the intention of getting something back in return. If it is money you’re spending, it leaves your hand, but it doesn’t leave your life. I hope you understand.

When you’re spending, you are only doing things for the present. Whatever returns or goods and services you acquire would be useful immediately. Examples include holiday purchases or shopping, dinners, events, and all our wonderful experiences when we take a trip fall under spending. While luxury items such as cars, smartphones, computers, renting an apartment are all things that reduce in value with use, they are the things that are necessary, and we use it daily till it is no longer considered good or it is totally unusable.

When you think of how you can gain more financially, always consider your choice carefully. What would you go for? Goods that depreciate or something that adds to your financial gain and brings in return in the future? If you think about this properly and make the right decisions, it may be painful not having what you want immediately, but you’ll be happier later.

Even when you’re between the rock and the deep blue sea in your decisions, you know you should invest more and spend less and not the other way round. That’s a basic idea of the difference between spending and investing.

Let me paint a picture for you: it’s your birthday, and you want to have a nice time. You have one thousand dollars ($1000). You can decide to go shopping (spending) or you can use the money to pay for your college fund or save it up for a business you want to start (investing).

Remember that spending is for today while investing is for the tomorrow. One who eats bread is spending but the one who plants wheat and processes it to make bread is investing and would make money from it.

Investing is really about increasing the value of your life. It isn’t only about cash. Another thing you can spend or invest is your time. If you decide to play games on your phone or watch videos on Facebook or Instagram instead of reading a book or adding to your knowledge and skill by watching a DIY video, then you only spent your time you didn’t invest it.

It is not only individuals who can invest. Companies and the government can also choose to invest. If the government decides to provide infrastructure for the citizens and it maintains this infrastructure, then the government is investing as well. It is important to develop an investment mindset. Your life and future depends on it.

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