Money Is Important, But Don’t Forget To Live
Filed under: Money Management
I’m the kind of obsessive guy that gets wrapped up in whatever project I have in front of me and then forget all else. Eventually, I get so tied up in the details that I find myself getting sick of the project and want to put it away. I can’t tell you how many things I’ve gone into with a full head of steam and abandoned 3/4 complete because I pushed to hard to begin with.
Lately, I’ve been doing the same thing with debt elimination and growing my savings. I’ve pored over numbers and tried to finagle the world to fit into an efficient plan. That would work out great if debt elimination and savings growth were things I could do at my own pace. Since I can’t just create money at will and push my debt out the window, I’m forced to take a step back and watch things unfold without my direct intervention.
It’s frustrating, really. I can see where I want to be and I think I know how I can get there, but I can’t just start running for the goal because I am not in control. On every other type of project, the pace to completion has been completely up to my abilities. Now, I’m constrained by unseen outside forces that take their time and mess with my plans.
That means it’s time for me to take a step back again and evaluate myself and my goals as a whole. I’m definitely too impatient to let things work themselves out as it stands right now - why else would I be checking my data nearly every day? It’s gotten so bad that I’m spending less and less time enjoying the things that really matter in my life: my wife, my daughter, and our shared lives.
There are some things that you just can’t control in life. If you know debt elimination will take years, don’t keep your eyes fixed on the end goal because you will forget to look around at today. Take my advice: Enjoy the journey. Life isn’t a sprint or even a marathon - it’s something much more meaningful (and hopefully longer). If your mind is tied up in what life will be 20 years from now, how can you ever enjoy your life today?
I think I’ll be taking my own advice and reexamine my priorities. Debt elimination and savings are still important, but I think I’ll focus more on living and let the debt go away on its own.
October 24th, 2008 at 10:39 am
Good post - it is so true. Sometimes it is easy to get caught up in the frenzy of reaching the “goal” that we forget the more important things. The truth is that we will reach the goal if we just keep at it. I would rather enjoy the journey than have it be a horrible few years - don’t you think?
October 24th, 2008 at 1:05 pm
I’m like you. I do the same thing - focus on one thing to the exclusion of all else. The problem is that there is so much we can’t control, the biggest of which is time. I need to remind myself to look at my other goals too - going back to school, creating a good place to live, spending time with family and friends. I admit though that right now I sometimes I have to put those kinds of things in my “to-do” list so they don’t get missed in my focus on my financial situation!
October 24th, 2008 at 4:09 pm
I tend to get overwhelmed with the whole picture and become obsessed so I have to focus on one thing at a time. I’m trying to find a balance between sacrifice and debt. What am I willing to sacrifice to become debt free? I’m working on that list now.
October 27th, 2008 at 9:24 pm
[...] That One Caveman reminds us that Money is Important, but Don’t Forget to Live [...]
October 31st, 2008 at 10:55 am
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