By Believe it or not, we are done with 2020, and for those of you who don’t know, I celebrated in style by marrying my best friend on New Year’s Eve. (There might be a couple of photos on social media, if you missed it!) After our two-day honeymoon, we went back to our separate homes until our new house is ready, with plenty of room all five boys. (Yes, five!)
On the topic of goals, I crossed off a big one, but added another big goal for this summer. But this isn’t about me and my goals. I want to challenge you to share with us what goals you’ve set for 2021 and beyond.
Yes, I know that between December 31 and January 1, nothing major happened (outside of my wedding, of course!), and that other than a calendar change, things are pretty much the same. But I also know that this time of year does lend itself to new goals, resolutions, and reflections on the past year. Well, maybe less of that this year! All of us who ate too much between Halloween and last week are promising to be good for 30 days. Maybe take January off from booze, or social media. It’s almost like a January Lent where we atone for all of our vices.
I find it ironic that many of these resolutions are short-term in nature, and guilt-based, putting us into a never-ending guilt cycle: you promise to do Beach Body, but quit after three days. So you break down and check your social media, where you see someone else succeeding. Or drinking wine. So you feel guilty and start over…rinse, repeat.
I’m not here to tell you how (or whether) to make your New Year’s resolutions. But I do encourage myself and my staff to take some time this week to set goals for their mental, emotional, physical and spiritual lives in the coming months. Then we talk and share our goals so we can help hold each other accountable – even the personal goals folks are willing to share, so we can check in and encourage each other throughout the year. Of course there are some goals I don’t need to know about…but I digress.
The point is, if you have goals over the next 12 to 24 months that involve or affect your finances, please do let us know so we can adjust your plan accordingly, and hold you accountable as you work toward those goals. This allows us to help you on your path, as well as get to know you a little more, and offer better customized advice to you and your family.
Now, we all know of the 80/20 rule. Eighty percent of you will probably read this and think, “hey that’s great!” But even if you do have new goals, you won’t reach out. I would encourage you to write them down, however. As Steve Mariboli said, “If you don’t write it down, you don’t have a goal. You have a wish.” If you’ve seen my personal office space at Family Financial Partners, you’ve seen the board where I write my goals, and edit or cross them off as needed.
But to that 20 percent of you who will respond to this newsletter, I truly am looking forward to hearing from you, and what the coming months hold for you. Together, we can make 2021 a year of growth for our firm, and for you and yours.
