The following post is a contribution from Todd. He’s the co-founder and content manager at the Men’s Blog Fearless Men. It’s a blog on Manliness that inspires men to grow strong, get fit, be wise, kick fear in the face and become a better man.
What I admire most about My Money Design is the tagline “Designing Financial Freedom.” I believe that just because you have a dream or a goal doesn’t mean you’ll get there by accident. You won’t wake up in 6 months or 6 years and fulfilled your goal without having done it on purpose. You must plan, you must design how you’re going to build toward financial freedom.
Want to be financially free? Stop living in Financial Fear. A leading cause of paralysis with investors, savers, planners and thinkers is fear. And it’s rarely fear of the unknown. It’s fear of the past, the present, and how our shortcomings can affect our future.
What financial fears might be holding you back from designing your plan for financial freedom?
1. Fear of Loss:
What happens if I invest, and I lose it? How will I ever earn it back?
2. Fear of Looking Stupid:
Maybe you have a spouse, and you don’t want to make the wrong decision and disappoint them. Maybe you don’t want to make a play that “hurts” your family financially. These are all valid warnings signals that should be listened to. Fear does give us correct alarms sometimes, and helps us take a step back and consider what we’re doing.
But more often than not, the fear of looking stupid is just plain stupid. Fear can also give us false signals. It takes wisdom to discern which is which.
3. Fear of Getting Trapped:
You may not fear investing, and you may not fear a little bit of risk. But some people’s financial fear is simply being unwilling to move forward with a plan because they are so adverse to commitment. They don’t want to commit their money to one (or a plurality) of things because that then means they aren’t available to take a stab at the “next big opportunity.”
This type of fear reminds me of the guy who never asks that girl out because someone slightly better might come along.
Becoming financially free isn’t dating, and your money shouldn’t be your girlfriend.
4. Money is Their Lover:
You’ve heard it said that the root of all evil is the love of money. Not money itself, but the love of it. The addiction to it. Our forceful grip on all things finance.
Let me tell you, that person’s financial fear is losing control. Losing the power that money brings.
The fear of losing control will stop a person dead in their tracks from designing their money plan for financial freedom.
Remember, people don’t become free on accident. A dream, a design, a plan, happens on purpose.
What do we do if we suffer from financial fear?
First: Focus on a Dream:
Determine where you want to be in 1 year, 5 years, 10 years, 20 years.
Those are all arbitrary numbers of course. And you don’t (but probably should) have to write a mission statement. Just figure out where you truly want to be down the road, and assign a time value to it.
Second: Design a Plan:
Dreams don’t happen on accident. Neither does plans. Go make one.
This site is full of a wealth of information of where to start and what specific steps to take. Educate yourself.
Third: Identify What Fear is Holding You Back:
Is it self-doubt? Fear of loss? Fear of looking stupid?
What is causing you to hesitate when it comes to pulling the trigger on your financial plan?
Fourth: EXPOSURE
Expose yourself to the fear. It may sound counterproductive, but you’re only going to begin moving forward with the plan you designed if you face your fear. People who are afraid to talk to people should go introduce themselves to 100 new people. People afraid of public speaking should take some speaking engagements.
To truly feel confident when your bravery is fleeting can take specific and sometimes meticulous preparation. But you shouldn’t sit back and wait until all the ducks are in a row and the perfect scenario presents itself. We’ve all felt some apprehension when it comes to financial fear.
The amateur believes he must first overcome his fear; then he can do his work. The professional knows that fear can never be overcome. He knows there is no such thing as a fearless warrior or a dread-free artist.
-Steven Pressfield
Now that you know what to do, make a choice. Choose to move beyond your financial fear, and take your next, well-designed step to financial freedom.
Related Posts:
- Believing In Yourself After Finding Out That You Suck
- Goal Setting When You Realize That All You Have Is Now
- Overcoming Envy – Why Do We Hate Other People’s Success?
Fears v Dreams Image Credit: Nicholas Hammond / Fear of looking stupid Image Credit: Frederik Samuel
Good tips! Fear can certainly paralyze, but fear is afraid of action.
True–we can’t sit idly by!
There is one more thing to do: learn. Often the fear is of the unknown. That’s normal and rational, and the swiftest antidote to that is learning. The more you know, the more comfortable you get with good common sense…
Isn’t weird how much people fear learning something new??
Well put William. My natural instinct in any new situation is one of discomfort. But as soon as I learn what to do, I am no longer afraid.
That’s a great way to state it. Just because you’re uncomfortable or don’t feel “peace” about something doesn’t mean you shouldn’t proceed. It may just be unfamiliar territory.
Ok, you guys ARE every where lately! 🙂 That said, good post. Fear really can & does hold so many back in terms of money. I think what many of your tips go back to is education and making sure you educate yourself. That is the great equalizer to trumping the fear you struggle with.
Ha, thanks for following us around John!
As you say, at the core of it, the most important component is educating yourself and shining a little light on that darkness.
I think that the key is understanding the concept of independent events; if you take your best shot and miss, it isn’t going to affect the outcome of the next venture. You make great points here.
Mike that is good insight. Just b/c you’re on a losing streak doesn’t mean those events are connected. They could be, but it’s very possible they are not–aside from your mentality.
good post. I think fear is a very important topic in our society that rarely gets mentioned. Have you read The 50th Law by Robert Greene?
It’s a guide on overcoming your fears. I highly recommend it.
Kevin-no, I’ve never heard of it. Tell me, what is this 50th law??
Thanks Kevin. I’m always looking for a good book recommendation.
Great post and you are right people stop dead in their tracks because of fear when they travel the road of unknown. I know that I’d like to invest on my own but until I learn how it works I have a fear of losing money when I don’t know what I’m doing. I think by educating myself and working towards a better understanding may help lessen that fear so I can move forward. Thanks for sharing this
Thanks CBB! Sounds like you feel me. Yep, not being knowledgeable does make us risk-adverse.
Excellent insight. People really do let fear hold them back from educating themselves and growing smarter and wiser about growing their money.
Good point. Being financially free needs hard work and good planning. You must think everything thoroughly. you can’t reach you goal, you won’t be free from debt if you are afraid to take risk. That’s why a lot of people just stay where they are, going nowhere.
Fear is a powerful emotion that can certainly rob us of our dreams and plans. I used to be afraid of change or of going outside the norm, but not anymore. Facing fears is hard, but well worth the effort.
I think my biggest hangup is feeling useless because when I’m in the unknown, I feel out of my element and displaced. I have to re-group and remind myself that this is an opportunity to gain new skills and challenge myself.
If we let fear rule over us everytime we try to make a decision, we always end up being the losers. Life is full of risks and one thing that we should take big risks is in terms of making financial decisions.
Investing success is much more driven by your psyche than most of care to admit. There are a myriad of things, voices that serve to talk us out of our investing strategy. The key is whether you have the faith to persevere for long periods. Thats why I prefer a dividend strategy. You get paid to stick around and keep the faith!