Your status quo manifests itself as a warm, comfortable blanket and cues you to settle in and relax. Your status quo is also a huge roadblock to making badly needed changes within your financial life. Status quo is the sworn enemy of preparing for a successful financial future.
We sometimes see prospective clients that
know they need to change their existing financial/investment planning but can’t muster the emotional courage to tell their ‘friend’ at Whizbang Complicated Investments Company that they are changing. Inertia can be both a powerful physical
and emotional force.
Status Quo Must Change
Start with the premise that your status quo needs to change…it must change. Financial progress depends upon making good decisions, good choices, and focusing on what matters most in your life. Your status quo holds you back from creating priorities and impedes your ability to achieve meaningful long-term goals.
Status quo creeps in every time you consider the question of your financial future. Is your financial future viable? Is your financial future sustainable? Your status quo certainly thinks so, but in actuality,
is it so?
Don’t be Paralyzed by Fear
The primary reason your status quo keeps you bottled up can be summed up in a single word…
fear. Fear isn’t rational and it’s one of our most basic human emotions. We sometimes are reluctant to talk about fears even within a trusted advisory relationship.
Your status quo is a known quantity while any type of change obviously introduces an element of uncertainty. This might feel uncomfortable but your financial future depends upon uncertainty. Premium investment returns that outpace living costs happen because of uncertainty. You should welcome uncertainty.
Act Now
One of our most difficult jobs is to persuade clients to ‘act now.’ Unless, and until action steps are taken, the comfort of the status quo maintains a stronghold.
Financial life is often rapidly changing. Adjustments are sometimes needed in order to keep your plan on course. If the status quo prevails it can cause your financial trajectory to point somewhere other than where you intended.
Your “psychological immune system” does its best to keep you comfortable so that the status quo can continue. You have to decide to
choose something different or settle for what you have today. Start there.
Related:
Is It Time to Remodel Your Financial Life?
