#102 June 22nd, 2023
Blake Carroll, CPA
PwC People Team - Manager | Helping Aspiring CPAs Navigate the CPA Exam with Confidence
Have you or someone you care about ever stayed in a situation that so clearly was bad for them, and they really needed to leave? It could’ve been a job, relationship, or place they live that did not serve their ultimate goals. Our brains crave certainty, so our brains will keep us in situations that we are familiar with even if the situation‘s are not making us happy. The fear of the unknown and the fear of taking risk can be just that strong. It’s so easy to think of everything that could go wrong if we leave our current situation to try to create something better. We think about the worst case scenario happening, but what if the best case scenario actually happens? What if it works out better than you could hope for? Even if it doesn’t, it’s highly unlikely you’re going to completely destroy your life by making a change, plus you will experience learning and growth by stepping out and trying something new. Don’t stay stuck in the same place your whole life just because you’re afraid of a little uncertainty. Life is going to throw uncertainty at you anyway, so you might as well get to choose part of what happens to you. We regret the things we don’t do much more than the things we do try.?
This article tells an interesting story of a married couple where one spouse has always been committed to the idea of early financial independence while the other was not. But rather than trying to force their opinions on each other, they simply let each other be and follow their own paths. Ironically, doing so actually did end up changing one of their ways of thinking to match the other, to be on board with trying to retire early. So this article also shows the idea that modeling behavior is usually the best way to influence other people to change, rather than just telling them what to do. The husband in this relationship challenged his wife to think about what a perfect life and a perfect day would look like for her. Not a win the lottery chill on the beach day but a realistic every day scenario. How would you spend your time if you had more freedom and independence? That would allow you to do things like volunteering for worthwhile causes, or learn new hobbies and skills that interest you. That is the value in becoming financially independent, gaining back time. You do not have to deprive yourself of everything you enjoy to reach the point, it is more of a shift in emphasis from extra possessions to extra time independence. You will have to sacrifice some of what you want today in order to create the future that you want tomorrow, but it will so be worth it.?
This article talks about grief but I think the principles in it can be applied to dealing with the entire range of difficult feelings, not just grief. Those unpleasant feelings are going to pop up from time to time regardless of what we do; it’s just a part of how our brains function. So we cannot really try to run from or avoid bad feelings. But we have so much power in how we choose to respond to those feelings. The first step is becoming aware of it when you are feeling something bad or negative. You can’t do anything about it before you recognize it. The more specific you can get with labeling it and describing it the better because you are at then separating yourself from it. If you get lost wallowing inside an emotion it’s tough to break out. It is also super important to make sure you don’t beat yourself up for feeling any type of way. It’s not kind nor productive nor helpful.??Only after you have accepted and acknowledged the feeling should you now start to work past it. Otherwise you are just numbing the feeling and distracting yourself. Feelings will not go away if you just gloss over them with food, alcohol, or mindless media consumption. They will keep popping back up until you work through what is causing them, while giving yourself grace and compassion.
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It’s interesting how powerful the fear of starting small can be. We may never try to start our own business or side hustle because the ultimate goal is to completely replace our income, so making barely any money to start just doesn’t seem to be helpful. Sometimes we also feel embarrassed of what others will think of us if we start small. But everyone has to start somewhere, everyone has their first sale or their first customer. No one is going to replace their income right away. If you are doing something you enjoy and that you are good at, then any money on top of that is just icing on the cake even if it is just one dollar. It’s a natural part in the life of a business to have to scale up. That is also how you get better at whatever you are working on. You will never get to the big opportunities if you are not first open to the small ones.?
CPA tip of the week: Do you know what they call a professional who got a 99 on all four CPA exams? A CPA.
Do you know what they call a professional who got a 75 on all four CPA exams? A CPA.
Don’t put a ton of pressure on yourself to be perfect and know all of the material. Progress over perfection. It’s okay if some areas are a struggle and more difficult. That doesn’t have to stop you, intimidate you, or make you think that you cannot pass.