We’re fast approaching the new year, a time when many of us think about change. Maybe we want to invest more or spend less or lose weight or build a management team for our now solopreneur business or…
Phillip J. Eby, author of You, Version 2.0, has a great post on change (his topic is cleaning, yuck, but the tips could be applied to any change).
He says to change, you need to do three things…
Focus on changing your actions, not your circumstances
Accept and plan for your weaknesses, instead of toughing it out
and
Periodically review your results to fine-tune or re-think your approach if needed
I love the second tip about accepting and planning for your weakness. I think this is where most people fail.
When I first started investing, I knew that I had a terrible memory. Any process that I put in place would have to work with that memory. I couldn’t wait until the end of the month and invest that percent of my paycheck because I’d forget about it , spending it all.
So I use the pay it yourself first method. Once the money is out of my bank account, I forget about it. I no longer hanker to spend it.
I work with a financial advisor because like many entrepreneurs I get these “brilliant” ideas that I want to take immediate action on. Having an advisor forces me to pause and think through any purchases or sales.
Putting those two processes in place was much easier that trying to better my memory (been trying to do that for thirty years and no luck) or stem the flood of “brilliant” ideas.