Examining last years resolution(s) at the start of a new year provides an opportunity to reflect on the past. To celebrate the achievements and milestones we might have achieved without taking a moment to appreciate. A chance to examine our missteps and how we might avoid similar ones in the future, while pursuing resolution(s) for the coming year. We reflect now, as we enter into February, a threshold where that initial hope and inspiration faces the reality of the work one has set out for themselves. The New York Times reports:
“it takes just 32 days for the average person to finally break their resolution(s)”
From <https://nypost.com/2020/01/28/the-average-american-abandons-their-new-years-resolution-by-this-date/>
It’ easy to find oneself swept up in the possibilities of a new year. It’s just as easy to then be overwhelmed by the enormity of those goals. Instead of becoming demotivated, try and shift your focus to the journey and small accomplishments along the way.
I’d never set a new year’s resolution before, but 2020 changed that by teaching me three things:
- If you don’t force yourself to stop and appreciate the progress you make, any resolution simply becomes a number. Once hit, it is far too easy to replace this resolution with the next.
- Much of what I once thought of as willpower left me once I lost my routine. If I didn’t track my goals, along with the journey I took to accomplish them this year, I would not have achieved them at all.
- Resolution(s) don’t have to inflexible or absolute. A setback may change the date you accomplish it, but the progress you make in your journey has merit on its own.
During 2020 I set two resolution(s) for myself:
- to end the year with total assets of 1 million dollars or more
- get into a workout routine
- hit the 50 percent strength standard on all of my lifts
- feel healthy
Table of Contents
Resolution1- Raise My Net Worth to Allow More Flexibility
Goal: Hit total assets of 1 million dollars
The year started well, but then 2020 happened. Between the beginning of February and April, the economic toll of the Coronavirus began to come to light. Fear caused investors to flee the market and my net worth dropped by 16%. While this was better than the S&P500, it presented a hole to climb out of. I run a very low cash balance, a strategy I still believe in, but it left me little to deploy during the market downturn, slowing my recovery.
Celebrate and Appreciate the Milestones
The Federal Reserve acted quickly to support the economy. At the same time, pharmaceutical companies around the world worked tirelessly to achieve the impossible. Thanks, in large part, to these efforts, I hit my goal in June and never really looked back. With this goal accomplished, I faced my first instance of goal creep.
I had accomplished the goal I had set out for myself, but there was no reflection upon this accomplishment. Instead, what greeted me was a voice that said “A million dollars in assets does not make you a millionaire”. I told myself the voice was right. After all, to be a millionaire, one must hit a net worth (assets minus liabilities) of one million dollars. This goal which had seemed such a stretch just a few months before became my next target. The progress made to get this far was simply forgotten in my new pursuit.
Stretch goals can be powerful drivers of success. One must be careful to never allow them to replace the accomplishment of what came before.
In July I became a legitimate millionaire and realized I had never taken the time to celebrate or even appreciate any of the milestones along the way. I had told no one of my goal or achieving it. Upon this realization, I emailed my parents and offered to take them to Disney World once the world returns to some semblance of normal. Much of this accomplishment was built upon the encouragement and support they have always shown me.
We set goals for ourselves for a reason, to push ourselves forward. Attaining these goals should be celebrated and we should allow ourselves to reflect on the journey which took us there.
The Value of Cash
If March and April didn’t teach me the value of having cash on hand, the second half of 2020 provided me a refresher. A pharmaceutical company I have owned for several years had seen their stock run-up all year long as one of their treatments approached FDA approval. The FDA delayed this approval as a further two years of testing was requesting.
The reaction in the market was swift as the stock saw its valuation cut in half, resetting all the gains it had seen this year. Seeing this is an over-correction, I have been slowly adding to my position, which has recovered about 25% to date, but I once again found myself without the cash to take advantage of the opportunity I saw.
Many more potential millionaires are lost keeping money on the sidelines waiting to time the market. This does not mean cash has no value. Peace of mind and flexibility in how one can approach opportunities hold value.
Nothing is Ever “Once in a Lifetime”
In December, I finally gave up on a holding in a small Canadian cannabis grower. I had bought in under allure of how often in my life would I see a previously illegal market become legal. I ended up taking a 67% loss in this position, a small portion of which will be recovered thanks to tax-loss harvesting. It provided some value, however, as it was the one position in my portfolio loaned out via a fully secured stock lending program which resulted in a couple of hundred dollars in interest an experience I will soon be able to share with all of you.
The market provided a second opportunity with the expansion of legal sports betting. This shift turned out to be a much better play on what I had believed to be “once in a lifetime”. Humanity is resilient. The economy we all power is constantly evolving and adapting. We create new businesses, presenting new opportunities.
No missed opportunity should be seen as devastating, another is already forming.
Don’t Be Paralyzed Waiting for the Perfect Solution
While the economy as a whole benefited from the actions taken by the federal reserve this year, savings were hit as any sort of yield became more difficult to find. When my two banks both lowered their interest rates to .05%, I started to look for a new savings account. I spent months looking for the best option, meanwhile my savings continue to stagnant at my existing bank.
Finally, I opened an account with Yotta Savings. Yotta pairs a moderate guaranteed interest rate with a lottery system, providing some entertainment and upside. Four months in, I have averaged just under two percent annualize yield and have shared my experience here.
When faced with a problem, it’s easy to become paralyzed looking for the best solution. Don’t…Take that initial step to improve your situation and use that better position as a new baseline as you look forward.
No decision has to be final, sometimes a step in the right direction should be appreciated for what it is, merely a positive step along your journey, a foundation for what is to come.
The Successes Which Bring Happiness Are Those You Define:
Milestones do not have intrinsic value. Financial Independence holds value to me because of the freedom it can provide and the possibilities of what I might be able to accomplish with that freedom. The value we place on that freedom, and the point we feel comfortable acting upon it, are unique to everyone.
We recognize this, it’s in our name. The Inimitable Path- the recognition that your path is unique to you the missteps and successes, and the lessons you took from both cannot simply be replicated. We can share these experiences, help others forge their own path, but everyone’s journey has meaning because of its uniqueness.
Perhaps the wonderful Bella Wanana said it best:
One lesson I have learned is that there isn’t a defined path to success.
She explored the twitch personality of Pokimane as an example who:
Despite dropping out of university, she is able to find her own path to success through a strong online presence on Twitch
There is no singular path to success. There is no singular definition of success. They both hold the power and meaning that you assign them. You do not have to measure up to anyone else’s interpretation of either.
Resolution 2- Commit to a Consistent Workout Regimen
Goals– Exercise, Reach 50% strength level, be Healthy
With this goal, 2020 attempted to teach me some humility. I was forced to accept that some things are outside of my immediate control and learn to appreciate baby steps along the journey.
I entered the year several months removed from a surgery that saw me lifting two-pound weights for several weeks. Having gotten to a baseline in both my lifting and nutrition I felt my goals of hitting an average strength standard and putting on a few pounds of additional weight were well within reach. By March, I was closing in on both. A shoulder injury popped up in mid-march and continued to linger throughout the year.
The shoulder injury, much like being sick, is a microcosm for why taking the time to appreciate the journey and the milestones along the way is so important. Every day, as you recover, you truly appreciate how much better you feel than the day before, how much easier your day-to-day life is, as you get back to normal. That appreciation is short-lived as it becomes your new baseline and you focus on your next goal. There will always be another step along your journey, another number to hit, another goal to accomplish. I am starting to realize the value of forcing yourself to take a moment, allow yourself a breath, to recognize all of you have accomplished to get to where you are, before continuing your journey to the next milestone.
Be proud of the journey, if you keep chasing an ever-shifting goal post, you will miss out on so much along with way.
While I fell short of accomplishing this goal in 2020, but rather than view it as a failure, I appreciate the fact that I ended the year slightly better off than I entered it. I will still accomplish my goal, it will simply be a few months into 2021 and that is ok. I will still set a new goal for the new year, I simply have slightly more ground to cover.
Resolution(s) for 2021
1.) Become a stronger voice for the personal finance community
Goal(s): Build a Community Here
Learn social media enough to reach new audiences.
Twitter has been welcoming so far and I would like to hit 1k followers
learn how to best serve audiences on Pintrest and Facebook
Why: By reaching a new audience I can be a stronger voice for an amazing community I continue to learn from every day.
Publish 35 articles
Why: Much of the journey which got me here, the mistake made, and lessons learned are yet to be explored. Each has value, and I hope in shining light upon them others can avoid some of the mistakes I have made.
There are so many paths I am yet to take and I truly look forward to walking them with all of you beside me.
2.) Continue to increase my net worth to free up time for more valuable pursuits
Goal(s) Increase Net Worth by 20%
Reward: Buy a new bed
Why: Reduced stress have increased freedom in how I can spend my time.
3. Diversify Income Streams
Goals: Open my first real estate position. Most likely through a crowdfunding platform such as crowd street or fundraise
Why: I am too dependent upon my current employer and the stock market. Both are sources of stress and limit the chances I can take.
4. Fitness/Personal Health
Goals: Reach a strength standard of 65% on all lifts
Add a couple of pounds of healthy weight while dropping body fat slightly
Why: Partially this is being vain and wanting to look better than I do. Part of it is simply wanted to stay healthy as I get older. This is born of a desire to buy myself time to continue to enjoy life and experiences as they come.
Questions for the Community
What resolution(s) are you setting for yourself in the coming year?
How will you reward yourself along the way?
Questions From the Community
Have a question I didn’t address or anything you would like further information on? Leave it in the comments and I’ll address it here.