From the Bottom of the Bucket

          “The Unplanned Variable

”Just When you think you’ve got it down……” – Pat Benatar - Promises in the Dark

“We didn’t start the Fire, It’s been always burning since the world’s been turning….” Billy Joel – We Didn’t start the Fire

In my long career of Financial Life Coaching, I was able to see, first hand, what role human emotions play in supporting or undermining the process of making decisions.  The underlying cornerstone to Financial Life Planning is to help people discover thier conscious or unconscious emotion predispositions towards selecting a solution to the choices available ….then remind them of that process when emotions began to cloud judgment.

Even older, experienced planners recognize that the “best” solution still has a 20% “unknown” to it .  No matter how much thought goes into a solution, there are assumptions that will vary the plan.

 

How does one account in your future plans for things like the recent hurricanes?  The devastation brought on in Texas, Florida, and Peurto Rico, regardless of insurance adjustments, will alter people’s lives forever.

 

Politics aside, the world seems more at risk for disaster (man made or otherwise) than ever before.  If you let it, concentrating on these issues can truly depress you to the point of abandoning any future planning you have done.   How does one plan for global political unrest that could destroy the planet?  What about dealing with the uneasy feeling that we have “been here before”.

But we forget that pessimism is a choice and that through an effort to refocus on the positive (no matter how hard it is to find), one can return to the core foundation of his or her guiding goals. By doing so, you strengthen your focus and energy, thus improving your ability to cope and make the adjustments to your planned journey.

My point is that no one can, with 100% certainty, plan for the future.  We must expect an "unplanned" variable that will cause an adjustment to have to be made and if you have been living your life "In the Bucket" you will have the confidence and passion to execute that adjustment, returning to your core values and direction.

To coin an old phrase " Expect the unexpected" or leave a margin for the errors that are bound to occur.

Until next month, I wish you fulfillment.

Bob