I didn’t like The Irishman.
A LOT of people LOVED The Irishman.
Both of those things are okay and can coexist.
I found myself in a weird space after finishing the movie, though. After receiving so much hype and having an all-star cast/director, I went into the movie telling myself that I was going to like it. I thought to myself, “a lot of other people said this is going to be really good so I should think it’s really good as well.”
I wanted to like it, but it just didn’t do it for me. I read an article this morning that said only 18% of viewers finished the movie in one sitting, and others never finished it at all, but said they enjoyed it.
It got me thinking: how many other people out there said they liked the movie for the same reasons I wanted to like it? Because they thought they SHOULD like it, and not because they actually DID?
My line of thinking quickly turned from The Irishman to personal finance.
How many people buy things/do things because other people enjoy it and not because they ACTUALLY enjoy it themselves? Have you ever spent money on something because you thought it’s what you’re supposed to like versus what you actually like? I certainly have a few times.
One of the most difficult tasks in life is figuring out what is important to YOU. From a young age, a lot of people try their hardest to fit in. Whether it’s sports, video games, music, movies, TV shows, food, or something else, it’s normal for kids and young adults to want to fit in with their peers.
However, there has to come a day when you start making decisions (especially financial decisions) based on what’s important to you and what will bring joy to your life.
The very basis of financial planning is identifying your goals and constructing ways to work towards those goals. If you don’t know what makes you happy and what your goals are, how can you really plan for anything? That would be like starting to draw a map when you don’t know what the destination is.
We are in the midst of the holiday season, and a new year (a new DECADE) is right around the corner. Plenty of people use this time of year to start thinking of their goals for the new year, and changes they want to make in their lives going forward.
I’ll challenge you all this year to take this time to REALLY sit down and think about what makes you the happiest in life. What brings you the most joy? What do you actually care about as opposed to what you think others expect you to care about?
Once you figure that out, reverse-engineer a plan to get yourself there.
At the end of the day, you need to be true to yourself.