#160 October 17th, 2024
Blake Carroll, CPA
PwC People Team - Manager | Helping Aspiring CPAs Navigate the CPA Exam with Confidence
Often, when we are criticizing ourselves it is because we have not met some kind of expectation or goal. The problem is often our expectations are our own. Maybe they were given to us by someone else, and that could happen where we aren’t even aware of it. Many people meet a goal and realize it wasn’t even their goal in the first place, it came from society or a parent or a teacher. That leads to discontent and unfulfillment.?
It’s worthwhile to do the inner work to examine what beliefs about yourself and the world are driving your everyday behavior, your expectations, and your goals. The author gives an example where so much of what she did was based on the belief that people will only like her if she is doing something for them. She realized that belief is not true, not helpful, and not something that she wanted to drive her decisions. Once you uncover the beliefs, you can begin to replace them with new beliefs that serve you and align with who you want to be. But you can’t do that if you haven’t uncovered it! It’s a long process, but a worthwhile one. It is something you will probably have to do your whole life, as our beliefs are always being shaped both by ourselves and the external world around us. You need to design your own life, don’t let others do it for you.?
You cannot have positive overall well-being if your mental health is in a bad state. Mental health is not always good or always bad; but rather it exists on a spectrum that is always ebbing and flowing.?
As much as possible we want to try to be thriving and flourishing rather than just surviving, or even being in distress or illness. Many people think they are fixed, but your mental state and psychological fitness are things you can work on and improve. Even just adopting this growth mindset is a huge step if you had previously thought that everything was fixed.?
Have you actually examined the external circumstances, and more importantly, the internal beliefs and behaviors that keep you from being mentally well? Have you tried to come up with concrete action steps to improve in those areas? You have the ability to change,learn, and grow in these areas. You get to choose how you respond to the thoughts and emotions and reactions that you experience. You can try to learn more self-awareness and the patterns of how you act in certain situations.?
All of these practices of improving our mental well-being can be easier when done with others. Connection and feeling included are a key part of being human. Also, since struggle is guaranteed for all of us, having others around to help during difficult times can be crucial. Much of the disturbances we experience happen because we try to control external things, avoid discomfort, or we doubt ourselves. It sounds dark, but we need to expect pain, expect trials, and expect suffering. But don’t make those things worse because you’re upset because you thought that you could avoid them. You control how you respond to the tough times. Stop trying to find all of the answers out in the world, and look inward to appreciate the responsibility and agency that you have over yourself.?
Perfectionism can keep you stuck or too afraid to make any decisions because you’re so concerned with getting the perfect solution. That can lead
to a lot of wasted time! It’s better to make any small move in the right direction and get feedback, as opposed to being stuck.?
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You must be totally responsible for your life rather than putting things on other people or other external influences. Embrace challenge and discomfort as a normal part of life. Don't be afraid to ask for help because no one can do everything alone. It’s easy to feel like you are being an inconvenience or a bother when you ask for help, but generally speaking most people actually enjoy the chance to help others.?
The article’s advice specific to entrepreneurs is to know the financial members of their business inside and out. In addition, know how your time is being allocated and spent, not just your money.?
Automate, delegate, and outsource as much of both your personal life and business life as possible. Freeing yourself up to do what only you can and what you’re best at is how you experience growth.?
Lastly, make sure you are investing in the growth and development of both yourself and the important people around you. That actually can be where you get the biggest return, because our relationship with ourselves and our relationships with others will probably be the biggest factor in our daily happiness and peace.?
If you need a coach or a mentor on the CPA exam I would love to help you and work together; please check out my website below:
CPA tip of the week: As you study for the CPA exam, you will always have reasons to procrastinate, to avoid studying, to skip the tough sections.
Passing the exam is less about intelligence, and more about the courage to take risks and be wrong.
You will need to have a healthy tolerance of pain and difficultly.
Believe in your ability to learn and improve.
Keep pushing forward, even when it gets tough.
Post of the week: Mike Manalac on how the difficulties of working in accounting are actually what make accounts so valuable