Are You Taking Responsibility for Your Personal Financial Situation?
One of the more interesting things in life is how personal responsibility can help you along. This works in all aspects of life, including your personal financial situation. In order to start yielding wealth, it is important that you stand up and take responsibility for your personal financial situation. Yes, there are many undesirable circumstances that you may not have control over that affect your life. But at the same time, you can choose how you will react moving forward, and whether you will make a plan to increase the resources you have.
If you want more money, for example, do what it takes to find a better way to earn it (get training so you can get a promotion, or start a home business, etc.). You also need to take responsibility for what you do with that money. Where are you putting it? Are you using it to get out of debt and fund retirement? Do you have an investment plan? These are things you can take control of, even if events out of your control seem to conspire against you.
Last year, I got burned. I worked for someone who had a less than desirable character, but kept with him because the payment kept coming, despite a warning that he was behind in payments to others. One month came. I did work. I wasn’t paid after two weeks, as was the arrangement. I contacted him. Three days later he assured me payment was on the way, and to keep going. After two more weeks (and an entire month of work!) I finally quit. I never got the $3,000 he owed me.
Rather than sitting around railing that this was his fault (even though it was), I took responsibility for my situation moving forward. I could try to collect from him, but the time and energy, and the expense, could be better leveraged into more productive work. So I consider that a $3,000 lesson. I should have quit when the red flags started going up, or worked out an arrangement where at least some of my compensation was paid before the work was done. I am applying these lessons now as I go forward.
Presumably, financially free is what you want to be. If true, know that the road to financial freedom can be rough because you will stumble across many personal truths along the way. Buckle up – you will make it down that road much faster as soon as you actively refuse to allow anyone else to take responsibility for creating your life.
By accepting the truth that you are ultimately responsible for improving your personal financial situation, you can start making a plan — and start yielding wealth.
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POSTED IN: Debt Management, Personal Finance, Saving Money
3 opinions for Are You Taking Responsibility for Your Personal Financial Situation?
Miki
Sep 14, 2007 at 6:05 pm
I think at least part of your getting burned was the normal human “but me” attitude.
“But me” is
* the mindset that yields the greatest inventions, as when two brothers thought, “everybody thinks that man can’t fly, but us,” and fosters innovation at any level;
* what lets each of us continue functioning in our crazy world, knowing that the bad and scary stuff we hear about in the news can happen to anybody, but us.
Of course, you need to remember that “but me” also has a dark side—as we learn from every crook who believes that the cops will catch everyone “but me.”
Knowing this, it’s up to you to choose the side on which you want to play.
miranda
Sep 17, 2007 at 9:55 am
So true. :0) I thought that maybe everyone else was wrong about this guy “but me.”
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Jun 27, 2008 at 4:44 am
[…] whenever someone mentions the words “personal responsibility,” rest assured they take none and neglect to blame their parents only because their parents […]
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