Many, many years ago, I made an unwise decision about where to put my money. I don’t recall the exact details of where I spent that money, but I’ll never remember what my friend said to me when I was thinking about my next money move. He said, “Remember the Chinese proverb, ‘Don’t chase bad money with good money.’” It took me a few minutes to absorb the meaning of the proverb, but then I knew it was genius. It takes a good deal of personal discipline and wisdom to realize you are in a losing game and then to withdraw your resources and energy from it.
Since it’s the end of the year, I thought it would be a good time to reflect on what losses you might be involved in right now. Perhaps you:
- are frustrated that your involvement with an organization is draining your energy
- are upset you agreed to loan some money to your sibling when you are in danger of not meeting your own financial obligations
- are stressed because you ordered a high-priced piece of furniture based on a buying impulse and now feel you have to “match” the piece with others just like it
- are contracted to work with a counselor, tutor, mentor, trainer, or clinician, but you are dissatisfied with how your interactions have gone so far
Since it’s the end of the year, be kind to yourself. Heck, be kind to yourself because you should always be kind to yourself. Take a clear look at the annoying, money-draining, time-wasting engagements you might be involved in and figure a way out. You could:
- simplify your schedule and note what can be cut from it
- resolve to put a hold on all non-essential spending until your finances stabilize
- return that piece of high-priced furniture
- cancel your contracts, subscriptions, or memberships that aren’t serving your needs well
- do a quick spreadsheet of your monthly budget to remind yourself to take care of all money drains and leaks
If you are having trouble knowing how to identify what you are losing time, energy, and money on, I have a trick for you: identify those activities you would not want other people to know you were involved in. When our choices veer towards the unwise, we become upset and anxious. Oftentimes unknowingly, we also become more secretive about our activities because we sense others would disapprove or disagree with our actions. Once we go underground with these activities, then we feel even more locked in to the unwise conditions.
It’s okay to be unwise. We all make mistakes and have regrets. Accept the losses you have. Fix them and move forward, knowing that you can protect yourself from further losses. Doing so would be a great way to end this year.
What fixes can you make in your life? What important areas have I forgotten to address? Please feel free to share your thoughts by commenting here.
