What Is Change?
Change is a difficult and challenging process. Change means an abrupt alteration in behaviours, habits, and comfortable routines. We have all heard the clichés – the hardest part of success is committing to begin, the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, and so on. These sayings point out a reality of life.
Most efforts to abruptly change behaviours end in failure. Typical examples include the commitment to dieting, beginning an exercise program, or overcoming addictions. New Year’s Eve resolution’s are a classic example; the first sign of failure usually results in abandoning the program altogether.
Incremental Change
Real change takes time and happens incrementally. Only when you accept that there will be mistakes along the way and have the initiative to continue and learn from those setbacks will you begin to change. Rather than committing to change I prefer the term evolution. Classic evolution is the ability of living organisms to adapt to their environment and become stronger – survival of the fittest. In nature, this process takes millions of years.
Change is particularly difficult when it comes to money because learning to manage your finances usually happens through costly failures. Most of us will experience financial setbacks in our lifetime, and I made plenty. These expensive mistakes motivated me to learn and commit to improving my financial wisdom.
My Financial Evolution
My financial evolution was a gradual process of changing lifelong habits in favour of new ones and the most difficult part for me was learning to make wise financial decisions. Of course this didn’t happen suddenly, but slowly, one step at a time, one decision at a time, I began to evolve my financial understanding and increase my financial wisdom.
It’s a great tragedy when people choose not to learn from their financial mistakes or commit to improving their financial wisdom. If you accept failure, you will continue to fail.
Step by Step, Slowly We Change
Every step to financial literacy requires learning and decisions. You can’t suddenly change and expect to know and understand the process. There’s no magic shortcut that bypasses mistakes and learning. But slowly, one step at a time, one decision at a time, you can evolve your financial wisdom. Expect it to take years. Evolution is a lifelong process.
In my E-books (“Water Barrel” and “The Balance”) I discuss simple methods to live sensibly for today, take charge of your financial affairs, and invest safely for the long term. For more information please visit David Penna Amazon.
Disclaimer for ManageYourMoney.ca
The information provided on ManageYourMoney.ca is intended for educational and informational purposes only. It should not be taken as financial advice. The opinions shared are those of the authors and are meant to encourage sensible financial habits and decision-making. We recommend that you do your own research or consult a certified financial advisor before making any financial or investment decisions. All investments come with risks, and there is no guarantee of success. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results. Always consider your personal financial situation and risk tolerance before pursuing any investment opportunities.
As always, we are not a qualified financial advisors. We just relate financial management to our own experience which may not resemble yours at all. Advice is frequently worth exactly what you paid for it. Most of ours came from expensive experiences.
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