Patience and Perseverance Pays
How Self Composure Can Lead to Compounding Wealth and Health
The first week after I started working out, I remember every day for the first month I would look in the mirror to see how my progress was coming along. Just got done doing abs, time to pull up the shirt. Walking by the mirror, time to do a quick bicep flex. All to my horror, I wasn’t making any progress. Or, at least, I thought I wasn’t. Fast forward six months of working out consistently for five days a week and the results were starting to show. Sometimes when we start a new journey or challenge, we expect results to occur overnight. Then when we do not see the immediate results (instant gratification) we get discouraged and decide maybe this isn’t for us. Maybe all of this hard work won’t ever pay off.
Our financial journey is no different. Just as you set goals for how many times a week you will get to the gym or what weight you want to achieve by a certain month, setting financial goals are very, very similar. We set this goal of reaching a certain amount in our savings, in our investments, but when we do not feel like we are making any headway, we quickly begin to get back into old habits which cause our future selves to be disappointed at the actions our previous selves were, or were not making.
It is during the moments that we do not feel like we are making any progress when we should lean forward even more. Set that weekly automatic deposit in your savings or investment account. Set that quarterly goal of what number you would like to achieve or what debt you want to have paid off. Of course there will be daily and weekly fluctuations. The same type of fluctuations that happen for any goal that you have. I mean, don’t tell me you don’t remember that workout goal you had right before Thanksgiving rolled around. After that meal it felt like you yourself were the one rolling around. That does not mean your goals are no longer attainable, it just was a slight detour to the long-term journey that you are on.
Think of each new goal or step that you are taking as a seed that you are planting. Once you plant a seed, a real seed, do you dig it up every day to see how the progress is coming along? “Just checking on you little buddy. Are you still growing down there?” Of course not. That would not only lead to constant discouragement, but it could cause you to kill those dreams and goals that you have. If that seed isn’t in its proper environment of soil, sunlight and water; there is no way it would survive.
Take oak trees for an example. Oak trees can take up to 30 years to fully grow and produce an acorn. One. Acorn. Thank goodness a lot of our goals do not take that long to bear fruit, or acorns for that matter. The great thing is that you aren’t just planting one seed. There are countless seeds that you are planting every single day, and not all seeds take as long as oak trees to grow. It is when you stop planting the seeds when you should be concerned.
Not to keep dragging on with the planting and seed analogy, but who you have around you can either be a hindrance or an encouragement to that growth. If people are constantly picking at your ambitions or discouraging the seeds you are attempting to plant, that is not an environment that will ever lead to a fulfilling life or foster development. It would be like attempting to plant a beautiful garden in the most desolate climate available. Be mindful of where you are laying those seeds, for the effort you are making to lay that foundation may be undermined before they were ever given an opportunity to bloom.
Here are three things for you, and I, to remember as we go into a new week, a new chapter or a new goal (Listen to “Someone You Loved” by Lewis Capaldi while you read this, you won’t be disappointed):
- There are always second chances. Just because that business, relationship or career didn’t start like you were hoping does not mean you can’t or won’t be able to have a successful future. Remember that seed you planted years ago that did not grow like you were hoping? After all of that water you poured and time you spent does not mean that other seeds won’t flourish with the same love and care. Keep pouring. Make sure you pour in your own garden for your own well-being and growth as well. You can’t pour into those second chances if your well has run dry.
- No does not mean forever, it means right now. When things do not happen in the time-frame that you mentally fantasized they would, that does not determine the fate of your future. Just as that seed that was planted that required a healthy environment to grow, we also thrive in different environments. In the moment, a “No” can seem earth shattering, but often times it happens to re-direct us to a culture and mindset that encourages even further opportunities and self-improvement.
- You are a victor, not a victim. The moment self-sorrow sets root is the precise moment you begin planting weeds instead of beautiful flowers that were meant to blossom. In every difficulty, there is an opportunity. For every obstacle that is presented, there lies a solution. Life does not always appear fair. It can appear at times as if you are going a hundred miles an hour without making any progress. Keep pressing on, there is a light at what appears to be an endless tunnel.
Life is a lot like driving. We all have our own personal destinations. We all have goals, we have something behind us, a past. The mirrors, like the past, is there to guide us on our journey. Use those mirrors to your advantage. Do not stay focused on the mirrors (the past) or you will never reach your destination. It is a beautiful road, all you have to do is focus on your quest. Stay driven. If you are breathing and planting those seeds, you are already victorious.
*This is not financial advice. For educational purposes only.