Setting goals are important. It gives you something to work towards. But there is a huge misconception about goals that most people don’t figure out until it is too late. Achievement of your goal will not bring you happiness. Having a certain amount of money in the bank, getting a promotion, owning your dream home, retiring at age 50 – those may be your goals, but what happens once you get there? Then what?
As we go through life, we need to focus more on what makes us happy each day. Are we doing work we love? Are we surrounded by people we care for and respect? Are we comfortable in our surroundings? Are we making a difference? Do we go to close our eyes at night feeling content that we made the most of the day? Being able to answer these questions positively should be our daily objectives.
My guess is that most people would say that managing their money and thinking about their finances is not one of the things that bring them happiness. However, most people know that their financial health is important; saving money for the future and making smart money decisions today is critical to amassing wealth so that you can have the financial freedom you need to pursue your passions.
So, what I say to you, is give yourself permission to hire a real financial advisor; a person who can help you envision the whole big picture and who can help you navigate the myriad of financial decisions that you are faced with. Find someone who can be your sounding board, your guide, and your advocate. Find someone who understands the trade-offs between today’s emotional and financial needs and those of the future. Find someone who will force you to be accountable and who will be accountable to you. Find someone who puts your interests first and foremost and whose mission is to get you where you need to be financially so that when you reach your goals, you know exactly what your next step is going to be.
Sure it will cost money to hire such a person, but by outsourcing this critical component of your well- being – you will have more time to do the things that make you happy. And, in most cases, if you hire the right person, the likelihood of you reaching your goals in the first place will be significantly greater than if you try to do something you don’t want to do or that you don’t know much about on your own. It will be money well spent.
As Ralph Waldo Emerson so brilliantly pointed out, life is a journey, not a destination. Do all that you can to make that journey enjoyable – allow yourself to get help where you can so that you don’t get run down with your never-ending to-do lists and let things slip through the cracks. Even if it costs some money to do it right, it is a lot less costly than not doing it at all or doing it in an inefficient or ineffective manner. Give yourself permission…hire an advisor…and then go enjoy that journey, knowing that you have a guide who is doing everything they can to help you achieve your financial freedom.
