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HOW TO COPE WITH FAILURE & PERSONAL FINANCE PERSISTENCE

“Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm. ” Winston Churchill

MAIN TOPIC: Ups and Downs

ELI MANNING-NY GIANTS QUARTERBACK

BarbaraFriedbergPersonalFinance had an amazing week. I interviewed Flexo from Consumerism Commentary for my upcoming PERSONAL FINANCE LUMINARIES series, and I was interviewed twice myself; first by Inger Johnson for her radio show Let’s Talk Dollars with Sense and secondly by Andrea Blackwell for her blog Modern Tightwad. I’ll update you when both interviews are AVAILABLE for public consumption. I also made some contacts with bloggers (Elle from Couple Money, David Ning from Money Ning, and Jacob Irwin from My Personal Finance Journey who advised me on setting up a new Facebook Page  for BarbaraFriedbergPersonalFinance.

Then why do I feel crummy?

Along with those successes, I had a rejection. One of my upcoming Public Workshops was cancelled due to lack of sign-ups. I am attempting to secure an on air personal finance commentator position in my market and guess what. My first follow up phone call was not returned. (Of course, I’m not stopping with just one follow up call!)

PRACTICAL APPLICATION: Tips to Handle the Inevitable Ups and Downs

My present life is a compilation of some really good stuff and some personal stuff which is really tough. Actually, this is not unusual. If you believe that “I must be happy and things must go well in life”, you WILL BE DISAPPOINTED. The nature of life is change and challenge. By embracing this reality you can LEARN to be happier and wealthier in life.

I found an article in the November/December AARP magazine by Jane Pauley outlining some of her life failures and how they worked out. Next to the article were three powerful tips to deal with DEFEAT.  Here’s my interpretation of these defeat-beaters.

1. Permanent or temporary? Ask yourself how long the setback will last? Most defeats are temporary. As the sports commentators say, HAVE A SHORT MEMORY. Move on. In Monday night’s New York Giants v. Dallas Cowboys game, Eli Manning, Giants quarterback threw two interceptions in the first quarter. Yet, the Giants went on to WIN the game. Do not dwell on the defeat but move on. Look at your positive qualities and accept that FAILURE IS TEMPORARY.

2.  Attitude is everything. My mom said it best in her recent guest post. Clearly evaluate the lesson from a misstep and determine what you can learn. In investing, losses are inevitable. NO INVESTOR EVER AVOIDS LOSSES. To be a successful investor, one must evaluate if the loss was within your control or not and then move on. Keep a growth mindset and figure out how to “make lemonade out of the lemons.”

3. In goal setting, I always recommend breaking large efforts into manageable bites. Edwin Locke, PhD takes this idea a bit deeper. He recommends that in addition to creating quantifiable steps, set a deadline. This is where I fall short. I’m great at breaking big tasks into small bits, but I forget to set a deadline. I’m trying this one today!

What’s the takeaway?

  • Just dive in.
  • Don’t think too much.
  • Forget about the past failures and focus on the future.
  • Be positive, no matter what.
  • Even financial setbacks are not permanent.
  • Do not be surprised by INVESTING LOSSES. Do your homework before investing and look at your OVERALL portfolio return, learn from the losses.
  • Fall down? Get up and start again.
  • Ramit Sethi mentioned that not a week goes by where he doesn’t have a rejection.

To sum it up, personal, financial, emotional failures are inevitable. The most successful people have THE MOST LOSSES, because they make the most attempts.

What is your advice for handling setbacks?

 ACTION STEP:

Get a notebook and label it: “(your name) Personal Finance” and keep it by the computer. Use it to keep all of your personal finance goals, thoughts, activities, and plans.

  1. Write down a recent set back or two.
  2. Make a plan to overcome the loss and move forward.
  3. Take step one NOW.

image credit: Wikipedia

PERSONAL  FINANCE CARNIVALS:

My work was showcased this week at these carnivals. Why not stop by and check out the excellent articles?

  • Carnival of Personal Finance at Cash Money Life
  • Festival of Frugality at Budgeting in the Fun Stuff

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