There may be no “I” in team, but we do think there’s still room for individuality. Teamwork doesn’t get us very far if we lose sight of our values in the process, so it matters whether each player is able to trust her gut. What does megastar Taylor Swift have to teach us about this topic? More, in this week’s video.
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There are at least three people involved in every decision you make: past you, present you, and future you! How well is the committee getting along? And who’s getting the final say?
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by Caitie Leibman, Director of Communications
We never make decisions alone.
No—we’re not talking about all the different people we might consult when making a decision. We’re not talking about the family members, loved ones, or trusted counselors in our lives that help us navigate the big stuff.
Instead, we’re talking about what happens in our own minds. We never make decisions alone because there are always at least three different versions of us in the mix! This idea has been explored by a number of researchers who study the psychology of happiness, and writer Laura Vanderkam has summarized it really nicely in her work.
Basically, our decisions are always happening by committee:
The challenge is that only one of these people has to live out the costs of each choice: the experiencing self. Consider an everyday example… Should I go for a walk this morning?
“Nah, too cold,” says the experiencing self. “I’m tired.”
“But think of how energized we’ll feel after we walk,” says the anticipating self.
“Yeah, that’s how we felt last time we didn’t want to take a walk but then we did,” says the remembering self.
“Yeah, but you bozos don’t have to find clean socks, or bundle up, or drag your behind out there, or clean the floor after we track our shoes inside. I do!”
And that darn experiencing self isn’t wrong. But it doesn’t mean she should get the final say every single time. Do you hear the good points the other two have to offer? They’re not wrong either.
The experiencing self—the one that lives here, does a lot of the lifting, and has to deal with discomfort—has a disproportionate impact on two other really important people: your anticipating self and your remembering self. It’s a huge opportunity.
That anticipating self is teeing up some good stuff for you. She’s planning for retirement, investing wisely so that you might spend well. Making the most of those chapters of life is something you can do to honor her effort.
The remembering self might be savoring your choices for decades. What kind of experiences do you want to give her to work with? How do you want her to look back on you?
It’s not about getting every little thing in life just right. Sometimes, a walk is just a walk. A sandwich is just a sandwich. A paycheck is just a paycheck.
But from time to time, it’s good to zoom out and see how these three people are getting along. When our plans, experiences, and memories are working together, life can feel very rich.
What are you savoring from the past, enjoying in the present, or looking forward to in the future?
No matter where you find yourself, we’re wishing (all three of) you some peace, comfort, and joy today.
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There may be no “I” in team, but we do think there’s still room for individuality. Teamwork doesn’t get us very far if we lose sight of our values in the process, so it matters whether each player is able to trust her gut. What does megastar Taylor Swift have to teach us about this topic? More, in this week’s video.
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Taylor Swift has made a name for herself as a songwriter, pop star, and fashion icon, but now she’s making headlines for another role: as an effective investor.
Recently, Taylor was featured in the news for making a wise financial decision. She had a chance to be a paid sponsor for a—let’s say—questionable product. Instead of diving into a high-risk, high-reward situation, she asked questions, did her research, and declined the offer.
Whether or not Taylor’s music is for you, we admire her curiosity and commitment to herself. Her influence reaches all over the world, and she showed that she was not going to stand behind something she didn’t believe in. And every investor has the power to do that work. We do the research so that we know exactly what we own, why we own it, and how it fits into the big picture.
We at 228Main.com might not have the cumulative reach of Taylor—yet 😊—but we know how important it is to act by our values, no matter who is watching. It’s our responsibility.
Taylor seems to know hers, too, but it took determination to build the reputation she has. You don’t achieve that pop sensation status overnight! She has worked her entire adult life to build her empire, and she was not going to risk throwing it away based on someone else’s opinion or make a quick buck (or a hundred million).
One rash decision can cause a huge ripple effect, and most of the time, the impulse to do the trendy thing is not worth it. There are always going to be temptations in life, but it doesn’t mean any opportunity that comes along will work for us. Only we are in charge of keeping an eye on our future.
We don’t mind going against the crowd. At 228 Main, we consider all the angles of an opportunity, with our own critical eye. We don’t rely on others’ opinions. (When the cattle are all getting steered together, it rarely ends well for the cattle.) Certain products might be getting a lot of attention, but that does not mean they are necessarily great investments.
Please do ask your questions when you have them, and we’ll think about the potential outcomes together. We try to make informed decisions, in the direction of our goals.
So be your inquisitive, confident self. Like Taylor says in her song “The Lucky One,” “In the real world, if you have something that makes you different, you’re lucky.”
Dare to be different? Call or email us, anytime.
Investing involves risk including the potential loss of principal. No investment strategy can guarantee a profit or protect against loss. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results.
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There are restless spirits all around us. The neighbor that seems to be racing everywhere they go, the friend that seems addicted to making big changes. There are people who make us wonder, “When will it be enough?”
Sometimes we are those people. Sometimes we look down only to realize we’re on a treadmill. But here’s the good news: there are plenty of ways to get our needs met, to not want for anything and to not be wrapped up in the wanting. We talk a lot about helping clients put words to their dreams, but dreams need not be lofty. Here are a few guidelines that have proven helpful.
“The right amount is best.” In her book Lagom, writer Niki Brantmark describes this Swedish principle of the same name. Not enough is not enough. Too much of a good thing can be a good thing, but often is not. The right amount is best.
Social comparison, or “keeping up with the Joneses” can corrode happiness or financial health, if we aren’t conscious of our emotions and purposeful about our responses and reactions. It helps to focus on our own needs, rather than what others have. (And I doubt the Joneses care what you have anyway.)
When working on goals, it sometimes helps to define three outcomes: minimum acceptable levels, reasonable targets that feel within reach, and “stretch” goals that require creative thinking and approaches to get to. This may help you be more aware of options and possibilities.
Life is not a cage, and we are not doomed to the hamster wheel. We are each the star of our own personal drama, and we get to decide what works.
Get your ticket, one life only!
Clients, if you would like to talk about your goals or anything else, please email us or call.
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Should you get a tattoo? It’s quite a commitment. But the idea makes me wonder: what are the images and messages that matter most to us? What guides our choices?
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by Caitie Leibman, Director of Communications
Clients, you know we are generally pretty enthusiastic people. But we won’t deny that sometimes life can be a grind. Things break and we have to fix them, we sniffle and sneeze with allergies, and there are always bills to pay.
Sometimes we might fantasize that we’re somewhere else, to escape for even just a moment.
It can happen in financial planning, too, but in a different way. Instead of longing to be somewhere else, some people daydream about getting to somewhen else. We can mistake our goals for finish lines: “Once I’m there, things will be okay. Once I get it, I’ll be fine.”
But any worthwhile goal is not just about the finish line. It’s all of it: the preparation, the training, the progress, the setbacks, the community of support, and everything in between. It’s the journey and the destination. All of it.
As we aim our plans and planning toward our goals, it’s good visualize multiple steps along the way—not just the end. What will get me where I want to go? What milestones will mark my progress? What pain can I expect along the way?
In mindfulness meditation, practitioners make a distinction between pain and suffering. Pain is what happens here, a direct result of something painful. A strained muscle sends signals to our brain that tell us we’re experiencing discomfort.
Suffering, however, is the next layer beyond the pain. You can think of it as our feelings about our feelings, like despairing about the fact that now we’re injured and our progress is stymied. That feeling is not the same as the pain that radiates from the muscle: it’s radiating from our minds. It’s a story about the pain.
Pain may be a given for us mortals in our fragile human bodies. But what if suffering were optional? Instead of wishing away each temporary discomfort, we might hang with it—here, in the present.
We can’t selectively escape. When we wish to be elsewhen, we’re not only fleeing the bad: we forego any of the good that might also be here in the present.
Good thing we’re here to keep each other company, huh? Clients, what can we be doing for you? Call or write, anytime.
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But you knew that.
I read a thing the other day, explaining how you should take the emotion out of investing. This seemed a little off to me, so I googled “take the emotion out of investing”: 13 million links popped up.
Evidently, it’s a popular notion.
This school of thought holds that if you have an investment plan, it can be followed only coldly and rationally and logically, without emotion. Emotions can supposedly lead you astray, so it’s best to ignore them. Wait…
When your accounts hit $1 million for the first time, aren’t you going to whoop and holler?
If stock in a company we’ve long admired falls into bargain territory, shouldn’t that get our blood pumping?
I’m here to tell you, when we find a table-pounding opportunity, we’re going to pound the table!
The key distinction is, emotions don’t make decisions here. Our decisions are based on our tactics. Our tactics arise from strategy, which springs from our principles, which are rooted soundly in our values.
Is it always easy? No. Is there joy without pain? No.
But once a decision is made—and we have an understanding about how that might benefit your bucket, your outcomes—you better believe I am going to be excited.
No guarantees, except for excitement.
If you want an emotion-free Spock to handle your business, go for it. They’re not going to be working to age 92, though. For that, you need the joy that excitement brings!
Investing includes risks, including fluctuating prices and loss of principal.
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Maybe you’ve noticed… but I can be an enthusiastic fellow! But some believe emotions don’t have a role in investing… I’ve got some thoughts.
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