16 | The Clear "Why"

This post is Part 3 of 3 of the “Clarifying Our 'Why' Instead of Searching for Tactics” series.

It might seem like I’m suggesting being reckless and oblivious to tactics - that couldn’t be further from the case.

The tactics matter but only to the degree that we've decided that we're committed to what we're trying to accomplish.

The specific way you finance a home or home improvement pales in comparison to the impact of choosing a specific neighborhood, honing in on a specific price point, or tying up a lot of flexibility into a down payment or ongoing mortgage payment.

The specific accounts you use to save will have minimal to no impact unless you're simultaneously saving enough to keep your lifestyle expectations in check.

The specific investments you use will have minimal to no impact unless you're able to stay invested when you see someone else outperform or another bubble begin to burst.

Without clear "Whys", the tactics - every single one of them - are sirens on a rocky shore tempting us to get distracted from the things that actually matter to us.

Clear "Whys" ensure that we remember why we are using money in the first place.

Clear "Whys" allow us to see something else that looks awesome on the surface and acknowledge that we don't have all the context or knowledge to realize that it's not as cool as it may seem.

Clear "Whys" allow us to step into an uncertain future knowing that some decisions may have bad outcomes, but that doesn't mean they were bad decisions.

Clear "Whys" allow us to recognize when a specific vocation or career trajectory is no longer aligned with what we desire at our core.

Clear "Whys" allow us to tweak our spending when our most deeply held desires are in jeopardy of not being accomplished.

Clear "Whys" ensure that we are making decisions about our money instead of having money (and tactics!) make our decisions for us.