John: Sandy, I read a very interesting piece on the Simple
Dollar blog, recently, titled, Seven Personal Finance Lessons from the Government Shutdown. The government shutdown is over. Government workers have
returned to their jobs and back pay should be arriving soon (if it hasn’t
already). Things are back to normal… for now.
However,
it’s the “for now” part that should leave many people concerned going forward.
In truth, the government shutdown has
been an incredibly valuable moment for learning for all of us. It’s exposed some difficult truths about our government,
but more than that, it’s also exposed
the fragile nature of the financial and professional lives of many, many
Americans. Hundreds of thousands of government employees and many more
contractors have seen their lives thrown into chaos when they
previously perceived their employment as incredibly stable.
This
experience has provided all of us with a great opportunity to step back and
look at the reality of our own financial and professional worlds. It’s pointed
at a few things we should all keep in mind as we move forward.
My biggest
takeaway was that there is nothing that is truly “stable,” much less a job, but
financial readiness should be. You talk a great deal about success is an inside
job – heck, isn’t that the principle that your company was founded upon, I
believe – but what was your biggest lesson that you took away from the shutdown
and what is your biggest piece of advice that you would tell someone who
perceived something to be more stable than it actually is?
Think
about this for a second – what many people do not do is save enough for an
emergency fund if something were to happen, do you think people do enough
pre-saving in case this happened to them, either financially, professional
networking or other? And what would you tell people who this did happen to, how
they can bounce back quickly, instead of feeling sorry for themselves? It
should always be about being the victor and not the victim, no?
Sandy: Great topic John. Lots of food for thought here.
I think
we’re talking about a couple of different things. Your first point about “nothing is truly stable”, is absolutely
true, and applies to everything in life.
As I’ve said before, life is about change, and although we all love being
in our cozy comfort zones, the reality is that it is temporary. It might be long-term temporary (if there is
such a term), but at some point, things will change. People lose their jobs, the company goes out of business,
somebody gets sick, the relationship ends either voluntarily or involuntarily,
your house burns down, etc. On the
brighter side, positive things happen that also require changes. You graduate and get a terrific job, your
kids grow up and leave home, you move to a new location, find your perfect
partner, get married, have a child, win the lottery, etc. All of these shifts, both wanted and
unwanted, require adaptation. To work
with these shifts we need to be aware they might happen and have some kind of
plan on how to deal with the change.
Keeping
that in mind, we go to your second point about saving in case the unwanted
change happens. Saving can refer to
money, or making sure you have friends and/or colleagues to back you up, making
sure you have enough supplies or money to meet your basic needs in case
disaster strikes, etc.
Often when
we are in a good place we’re lulled into believing it will always be that way,
so we don’t put aside extra money or supplies, buy the insurance, or create an
emergency plan. So when something unexpected happens we are blindsided and
totally unprepared.
I believe
that’s what happened during the Shutdown.
People assumed that the government is stable, so if they had a
government job they would always be taken care of. Following that line of thought, they didn’t see a need to prepare
for the unexpected by setting aside money, food, etc.
The
reality is that it’s up to each of us to take responsibility for where we are
in our lives. Not only emotionally, but
also financially, physically, professionally, in relationships, and everywhere. As you said, it’s about being the victor,
not the victim.
Victims
think they have no control, and refuse to claim power and responsibility for
their situation, thoughts and actions.
They blame others and feel sorry for themselves, which keeps them stuck. Victors assess the situation, make a plan
and move ahead. They also learn the
lesson and take steps to insure that this particular thing won’t happen to them
again.
Please comment so others can benefit from your wisdom and
experience.
Sandy is now offering a FREE Coaching Call, so you can see
what Coaching is all about. Please
email her at Sandy@insidejobscoach.com
and put FREE Call in the Subject Line.
She will get right back to you to schedule your call.
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