Have You Questioned Your Financial Dreams?

What are your financial dreams?

Financial Dreams Are Wonderful

Who doesn’t love planning for and working towards a better future? There’s a lot of good in it.

But the problem comes when you start comparing those future dreams with reality. Especially, since it’s usually not clear how to get from today’s situation to those dreams.

In making the comparison, the mind often exaggerates the goodness of the dreams and the not-good-enough-ness of reality. That’s when discontent and stress begin.

How Can I Have the Best of Both Worlds?

One way to find the balance again between dreams and reality is to do The Work.

Make a list of your financial dreams one by one. Lay them out in living color. Dream your dreams and write down every aspect of them using the format, “I want…”

Make a detailed list of financial wants.

And Then Question What You Wrote

For example, doing that now, I come up with this list:

• I want to pay off the mortgage.
• I want to have money left over every month.
• I want to have money in the bank.
• I want to travel.
• I want to buy some expensive photo gear.
• I want to work less hours.
• I want to have more vacation time.
• I want to be able to pay a bookkeeper.
• I want to feel comfortable about retirement.

It can be so interesting to question a list of financial dreams like this. For example, “I want to pay off the mortgage, is that true?” What a great question?

When You Question What You Want, You Get to See All Sides of It

Sure, I want to pay off the mortgage. That’s my dream. I’d love to have a “rent-free” living situation.

But the turnaround, “I don’t want to pay off the mortgage,” is also true. I am perfectly fine paying the mortgage every month, just like I’ve paid rent for years. In fact, it feels good to be responsible. Also, I don’t want to overwork just to achieve this goal faster. It’s not worth it to me.

So what if I never pay off the mortgage? I’ve got a place to live. That’s more than enough for now. And I can always sell it if it’s too much for me.

Even if we did pay off the mortgage, would it make that much difference in our quality of life? It’s just an idea in my mind: “Debt is bad. I must pay it off right away.”

Without that thought, I would be happily paying my mortgage without thinking much about it. I would enjoy the house, I’d be using it, instead of feeling like it’s not mine yet.

That’s the Value of Questioning Your Dreams

The point is not to give up your dreams. But to see both sides of them.

Yes, I want that. And no, I don’t want that. Both sides are true. There are advantages to both. It’s up to you to look for those advantages.

I invite you to make a list of financial dreams, or any dreams, and question what you wrote using the four questions and turnarounds of The Work.

Have a great week,
Todd

“Can you really know that your highest good is to be an artist? How do you react when you believe that thought? You refuse to be content in a job less lofty than that, and when you get a job, you hate it because you think you’re just marking time until you can devote yourself to your art.” — Byron Katie, Question Your Thinking, Change the World

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