The unexamined life is more expensive
Find your reason.
Your reason for what? For pretty much everything you do in your life.
Let鈥檚 start with the immediate. Why are you reading this site right now (or, in the case of email recipients, this email)? Some of you are probably reading this because you desperately need some financial help. Others are reading it because they鈥檙e on a good financial path and reinforcement is a big help to them. Still others read the site for entertainment 鈥� many of my old friends seem to fall into this category.
The key thing is that you have a reason for reading. It might be a strong one or it might be a weak one, but there鈥檚 a reason that you鈥檙e choosing to read The Simple Dollar.
Now, start asking yourself the 鈥渞eason鈥� question for everything you do in life.
Why are you at work right now? Why do you have this current job?
Why did you do whatever you did this past weekend?
Why did you eat whatever you ate for breakfast this morning?
Think through some of the things going on in your life, big and little. Why? Why? Why?
Some of these answers will be fairly easy. For example, as I write this, I鈥檓 working for four very clear reasons. One, I love the art of writing. Two, writing about personal finance (and doing the needed research and self-evaluation) makes me focus on my own personal finance success. Three, it provides some level of income for my family. Finally, I simply enjoy helping people.
The nice thing about this is that it鈥檚 easy for me to see exactly why I work on The Simple Dollar. I have internal motivations (helping people, the sheer joy of writing) and external motivations (family financial success, assisting others). I don鈥檛 have to search for why I do it, thus it鈥檚 easy for me to get in the mindset needed to write all of this content. I have a reason.
Other answers will be fairly difficult. This morning, I had two bean-and-tofu-scramble burritos for breakfast, seasoned up like crazy with a bunch of hot sauce and garlic. It was reasonably healthy and fairly tasty (good reasons) but when I think about eating, say, a banana or an apple or a bowl of oatmeal in comparison, I start to have difficulty saying why I chose to eat the burritos.
A general rule of thumb is that the harder it is to come up with good reasons for what you鈥檙e doing, the more you should focus on finding a different path. If you can鈥檛 explain why you鈥檙e eating what you are beyond 鈥渋t tastes good,鈥� you may want to think heavily about your diet. If you can鈥檛 explain why you鈥檙e buying these items other than 鈥淚 want them,鈥� you may want to think heavily about your spending habits.
This is admittedly often hard to do on the spur of the moment. We often don鈥檛 have time to stop and ask ourselves these types of questions in the midst of a busy day 鈥� and, frankly, I wouldn鈥檛 even try to do so.
Instead, spend idle time reflecting on these kinds of things. Reflect on the choices you鈥檙e making in life 鈥� financially and otherwise 鈥� and see if you can figure out why you鈥檙e making those choices. Look around your environment for things to evaluate, such as the things you eat, the things you use to entertain yourself, and so on.
鈥淚t鈥檚 too small to worry about!鈥� Some might find it to be a waste of time to reflect on tiny things, like the light bulbs in your home. What I often find is that reflection on the tiny things is a microcosm of reflecting on the bigger things in life. If I鈥檓 asking myself 鈥渨hy鈥� with regards to my light bulbs, I鈥檓 really asking 鈥渨hy鈥� with regards to my electricity bill each month, because my reasons involving energy use apply not only to light bulbs, but to lots of things. For example, if I know I bought this particular bulb because of the great lighting, I know that鈥檚 the reason for it and that it trumps low-cost lighting options. I鈥檓 spending more because I value the quality lighting here. But where is that reason true? Do you need different lighting in different areas? What about other energy use decisions in your home?
The more 鈥渨hys鈥� you ask, the more you transition to naturally thinking about the reasons for your choices and the consequences of them. The more naturally mindful you are, the more 鈥渂ang for your buck鈥� you鈥檒l get for almost every financial choice you make, from what you buy to how you spend your time. Even better, you鈥檒l quickly see that your life becomes more purposeful, more enjoyable, and even more exciting.
It鈥檚 a long journey 鈥� I can certainly say that I鈥檓 not there yet. But the rewards along the road as you grow are well worth the effort.
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