Life decisions based around the 'status quo' will fail in today's world

Why have I chosen to write about the above subject today? I see a lot of people who are walking around at the moment kind of stunned and shocked with the multiple stress of losing wealth, job security, political instability and the fact that they suddenly realize they have no clear life direction or purpose. The question is what can you do to adapt and what does a changing society mean for you personally?

Well first of all stop thinking that life will just 'work out' even if you make little effort or do not think about your actions. In the past society was more stable and changed at a slower rate - people lived by different principles. Now everyone wants more, more is expected of us, consumerism is becoming more of a lifestyle where we either work or spend and entrepreneurs are always looking for the next thing as humans' attention span is now so short. Unfortunately there are also limited resources so those who do not go and get will end up with nothing.

You might say great wealth or job satisfaction is not important, you would rather live an easy life. Well get real...with technology, investment trends, globalization, political disputes changing ever so quickly there is no way anyone's life cannot not be impacted by social changes occurring. The need to adapt is just as necessary now as it was for the caveman when fighting for his life in the wild. Our 'wild' is now the urban jungle and the dinosaurs are everyone else trying to succeed. The survival of the fittest rings true and if you don't realize this now then good luck.

However if you do realize you must adapt with change then your next step is to focus on how much you need to change and in what areas. Whether it be new skills for a career, changing your investment structure, changing your perceptions of the world, fitness and mental agility your plan must be clear and focused. Society, as it was in the past, will not automatically take care of you, your employer will not guarantee you a job for life, your wife will not guarantee a relationship for life...it is time to accept that the direction your life takes is in your hands and your hands only.

Go see a business or personal performance coach, look at tools such as neurolinguistic programming to put the changes into effect. But more importantly act today.

Goal setting in face of financial adversity - part 1

When it comes to discussion around goal setting and achievement of those goals all the text books talk about having clear values, motivations, action plans and the like. They talk about time management and keeping focus as if it is something unknown to the 'uneducated' masses. But of course we might suspect that the people writing these books are not goal setting 'gurus', they are just writers who have decided to write a book that they hope to sell to make money. Quite simple.

However the one thing that many writers of goal setting books, coaches etc do not take into account very well is the influence of life/other uncontrollable or even some controllable events on the human psyche. Even the best laid plans for goals, even those you thought were important, can be adversely affected by other matters that are important. Today, briefly, I want to talk about how to consider setting goals even when you are being impacted by negative financial events.

So by now even the people living underground know that there is a massive upheaval in financial markets, asset worth and capital allocation in the world at the moment. Many of us are losing a good portion of wealth, seeing assets fall in value and becoming burdened with debt. Now another topic I will talk about soon is the fact that wealth is not real....but to most of us increased wealth makes us feel good and decrease makes us not feel so good. Many people I speak to say that their life goals are impacted by this feeling of becoming 'less wealthy' and seeing money being taken away from them. Many other goals are being pushed aside because of the stress of financial pressures and this is causing lack of motivation, determination, vision - even from those people who would state that they are not motivated purely by money.

This is not something that can be covered in one setting so I've made this part 1. At this time I would choose to leave you with these five thoughts;

1. Learn to focus on what you can control, not what you cannot control. Financial markets move in cycles and for 99.9% of us we cannot determine what happens. Therefore do not blame yourself for what has happened.

2. Whilst we all need money to live, take a breath and truly think about what money means to your lifestyle and way of life. Do you really need the money today? If financial markets move in cycles do you never expect your wealth to increase in the future? Exactly what have you lost? Perhaps it's not about the wealth itself, rather you feel something has been 'taken' from you. Take the emotion out of this thought!

3. Own up to yourself that being financially secure or even independently wealthy, or whatever it is, is important for you. Perhaps look at what you can do to control your finances better...but only within the realms of you can control.

4. Revisit your goals and ask yourself do you still want what achieving the goal will provide? Do they still equate to what you value as a human being. Refocus on these benefits and even include what you can gain financially. Standing still and doing nothing is not going to get you anywhere - if you keep on moving forward things will happen. This is a fact of life - action results in change of status quo.

5. Look at improving your knowledge of investments and perhaps consider taking charge of your own finances a little. Many finance professionals know little more than you in many respects. My other advice is to invest in what you know - I have a friend who invests only in his business only because he knows the value of this in detail.