#111 August 25th, 2023
Blake Carroll, CPA
PwC People Team - Manager | Helping Aspiring CPAs Navigate the CPA Exam with Confidence
This article gives advice on how to let go of perfectionism and be more comfortable with making mistakes. So many of us are holding ourselves to very unrealistic standards and then beating ourselves up for not reaching them. Perfectionism can actually be a form of procrastinating. You don’t start working on the task because you’re afraid of falling short since you’re demanding so much of yourself. You think if I don’t start at least I can’t mess up. But we really should embrace trying and embrace making mistakes. History is full of examples of something that at first looked like a mistake but actually leader to an even better outcome than the original plan. Your mind may surprise you with new solutions if you take the first step of starting to look even if you don’t know where exactly to look. Every attempt you make will help guide you in a better direction. If you never bother trying anything then almost by definition you will never achieve or create anything. Lastly, dealing with mistakes is a great area to practice growth and personal development. It’s a chance to learn and improve rather than berating ourselves, and it also teaches us forgiveness and how to move on.?
The author of this article writes about why he’s been much more successful as a self employed worker rather than a traditional 9-5 employee. If you can?relate to and identify with some of his reasons then maybe it’s something for you to potentially explore as well. The first big reason for the author was the time autonomy and flexibility that comes from being self employed, from being able to make your own schedule. Thankfully that ability has become much more readily available since COVID, but with many jobs there are still hard and strict expectations around work schedules. It can be frustrating when it feels like your time isn’t really your own. If you’re in a traditional?corporate role it’s probably a more regular thing for you to have work assignments that you are not fully engaged with. You have less control around what you are working on. No job is perfect in this regard; there will always be times we have to do tasks we don’t love, but we can certainly try to improve this part of our work. In an office maybe you feel like you have to hide your true persona at times, play politics, or impress the bosses even when it has nothing to do with your competencies or interests. If you’re self employed those concerns go out the window and you can just work. You don’t have to do any pretending with coworkers. Lastly, in traditional work environments you may feel like people are always monitoring you and looking over your shoulder. Yes guidance is helpful, but no one wants to be micro managed. It’s another area where there’s more freedom and autonomy if you are doing your own work. If you resonate with these ideas maybe it’s time to explore starting your own side gig.
This article describes how switching from “you” statements to “I” statements can have a huge positive impact on all of your relationships no matter the other person. It’s an especially helpful tactic if the conversation is one that may be a little tense or emotional. “You” statements can automatically make the other person defensive, and when that happens it’s almost impossible to have a productive conversation. You can begin to fight about the conversation rather than discussing what you actually wanted to talk about. “I” statements make sure you are keeping the focus on yourself and your experience rather than the other person. Your experience is valid, and it’s helpful to make sure that the other people know how you feel. We do still have to own our feelings and self evaluate if they are true or not. We can’t just beat the other person over the head with our feelings. Try these tactics and see how much more open and honest your conversations can become!?
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Whether it is just you and your partner, or a bigger family with kids, is everybody aware of the family’s financial situation? Do people know how much you’re earning, and what money goes where once you earn it? Of course if you have young kids they don’t need to know everything going on. But it’s important for people, especially both partners, to have a solid basic knowledge of their financial situation. It’s much better for both parties to be involved in solving any financial problems rather than one person taking it all on and the other being totally unaware of any issues. You also would not want to run the risk of one person hiding money secrets from the other. Also, if only one person is handling your finances and then they were to pass away, that would be incredibly stressful for the other to have to get up to speed on their own as they deal with their grief. It’s much better for two people to be working towards your goals together than just one. It’s easy to have lots of unspoken assumptions and mental stories we tell ourselves about our values around money and how it should be treated, so it’s important to get those opinions out into the open to make sure you are on the same page.
CPA tip of the week: If you've consistently delayed and procrastinated on taking the CPA exam, each day gives you with a new choice with two options:
Option 1: "I'll eventually do it, maybe I'll begin studying tomorrow. Someday, it'll occur."
Option 2: "Today marks DAY ONE, a new start. In this moment, I take the initial stride toward my objective. One step at a time.”
The step doesn’t need to be huge; simply start the journey. The ideal moment to start might have been 10 years, months, or days ago. The next best moment is right now—today. The choice is up to you!