One of the keys to a successful life is to have an attitude of gratitude regardless of circumstances.
There are 2 primary ways people get this wrong and I’ve been guilty of both.
First, they base their level of happiness on their current situation. If their relationships are good and their bank account is full then they’re happy. However, if they are having issues with someone or not having the best month in business, they’re miserable.
The second issue that can come up is people getting the whole delayed gratification thing wrong. Yes, you’ll have to be patient to reach a big goal but that doesn’t mean you have to put your life on hold. Many people are waiting for that “one day” when they will truly LIVE. Maybe that’s when the kids are grown or maybe it’s retirement.
Let me address both of these issues. I feel qualified to do so because again, I’ve fallen for both.
If you’re basing your happiness on your current situation, you’ll always be disappointed. Even worse would be basing your happiness on how others treat you. Having a “good situation” is completely arbitrary. There are no standards for that. For example, one person might see earning 100K as the best thing ever while another (e.g. someone living among the wealthy) sees is as a complete failure. And if you’re basing your feelings on how other people react to you, forget it! Other people’s reactions towards you says much more about them than it does you.
So let’s look at the second point. Putting some stuff on hold in order to get ahead financially is fine. I did that. For example, my wife and I shared one car while caring for a newborn so we could dig out of a hole we were in. Doing that sort of thing for a season is fine and even builds character. But not enjoying life now is a huge mistake. People act like they’re going to live forever. So they never do things they want to do like compete in something, start or expand a business, or visit a “bucket list” destination.
We all know we aren’t promised another day. So that thing you want to do, go ahead and take the next action towards it.
If you want to be different than most and actually have something to show for your hard work start saving NOW. There will not be a better time. If you know anything about compound interest the best time to start is yesterday. If you’re already optimizing your retirement, teach it to your team. They might not verbalize it but if they’re having money trouble, it will certainly make its way into the gym/office.
My challenge to you is to take the next step towards the thing you want to do.
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