Another great post from Carl Richards, the IFA coach:
“I love this sketch. To me, it speaks not just to our financial lives, but to our complex, sticky, tricky, emotional lives as well. Think of this as an attention filter. If you’re spending a ton of time and energy agonizing over something, just take a step back and ask the following questions:
- Does it matter?
- Can I control it?
Unless the answer is yes on both counts, you can stop thinking about it! For me, the list of things I can stop thinking about includes:
- Whether my children get into college or not (because I can’t control it).
- Whether I could have saved $5 on groceries by going to a different store (because it doesn’t matter).
- Whether the stock market is in flux right now (because I can’t control it).
- That guy who cut me off in traffic (because it doesn’t matter).
As I drive home from work, NOT thinking about any of those things, I am suddenly freed up to think about things I CAN control, and things that DO matter. For example:
- How I treat my children, regardless of whether college is a good fit for them or not.
- How I can get my shopping to align with my values.
- How I behave when stock market fluctuations happen.
- Learning to count to 10, taking a deep breath, and letting go when other drivers act like jerks.
We only have so much time, energy, and attention to invest into our lives.
What would it look like if you invested all of it just a little more wisely?
If you quit worrying about things you have no control over, and stop obsessing over things that don’t matter, where else might you be able to invest that extra time, energy, and attention?
-Carl”
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