Category: Life

How to cope with dark days

Very few people sail easily through every day of life (despite the impression they may give).  What makes it even harder for seemingly robust people (and maybe you are one of these), is that the crash from performing for the audience (this could be workforce, employees, family or friends) to facing your woes seems far bigger and painful. Imagine having the best day ever, then the next morning you wake up and find that your world has collapsed. For some, this type of day comes along far more frequently that you might imagine.

I first met Dr James Rouse a couple of years ago (first watch this video).  I was told to make sure I got to the front of the auditorium and to be as close to him as possible. Hearing from other Serenity financial life planners, I was told of the profound effect which his energy, enthusiasm and vigour had on them.

Aside from being a great speaker, incredibly fit, and full of energy, Dr James is unbelievably generous with his time.  There is no ego attached, he goes about his day helping others, inspiring them, and encouraging enthusiasm. I had a great dialogue with him over the course of the conference, which meant so much to me, that a headline speaker would take the time to share his wisdom on a one to one basis.

In the video, James talks about dark days. This made me sit up suddenly, as he is probably the bounciest, happiest person I can imagine.  Of course, behind what we show the world, there are frequently very different feelings.  We have all heard of unhappy comedians for example.

Here are 4 particular attributes  which contribute to dark days, and how to reframe how you are feeling :

  1. Perfectionism– when no matter what we do is good enough.  The answer – to realise that we are all students in life.
  2. Not Enoughness– where we feel we should be better and we are winging it through life, waiting to be found out. James advocates focusing on just one thing, and doing that intentionally well.
  3. The Human Doing– we all live busy lives, balancing commitments, obligations and duties. We are all consumed by ‘doing’ that we forget about ‘being’. After all, we are Human Beings,  so take some time to just be.  Have some time for you.
  4. Sadness – which sometimes just hits us. We wake up feeling just sad, then wallow in that without any real reason, maybe even beating ourselves up about it. Trying to be compassionate and present with the self is a great way to be kind to that most important person – you!

I hope that you find Dr James as uplifting an inspiration as we do at Serenity.

Together we can bring some Serenity to your life

 

What’s missing from financial planning?

Is financial planning just about numbers?

Anyone who has ever come into contact with a Serenity financial life planner will be more than aware of our passion for not just financial planning, but financial life planning.

Why is Financial Life Planning important?

That small four letter word ‘life’ may not seem that significant but it epitomises the whole point of all of us being here. The whole purpose of being on the planet is about life, and without that key element, perhaps there is no point, no purpose, and no logic.

In this article in Forbes, George Kinder, the founding father of Financial Life Planning explains the huge difference between financial planning and financial life planning.

What is the difference between Financial Planning and Financial Life Planning?

In short, one deals with people’s money, the other focuses on their lives and happiness first, then sets to work around the money part. In a way, it is comparing living to living life.

Surely investments and pensions matter most?

To quote one of our very great friends Andy Hart of Maven Adviser, ‘no adviser ever got a letter from a pension policy asking for help’.

Surely Financial Planning is no place for emotions

Emotion drives decisions, and decisions drive life, this is when we finally figure out that people’s emotions drive everything. To understand emotions, and ultimately our clients’ drivers through their lives, we need to listen to them, not project our opinions on how clever we think we are.

How does a Financial Life Planning relationship look?

It’s all about having a deep and meaningful relationship with our clients through their lives, not a synthetic relationship with their money for as long as it lasts. Without that deep relationship, we are just continually guessing at what may be best for our clients, guesses which may have a long term detrimental effect on their happiness.

Together we can bring some Serenity to your life

 

How can you improve someone’s day?

 

Isn’t just thinking nice thoughts good enough?

It is generally easy enough to think nice thoughts about other people (it is actually easiest to criticise, but that is a topic for another day).

You may have noticed over the years, that very few people are telepathic, they cannot read our minds.  If the FBI cannot find a source of telepathic people to be agents, it is unlikely that the people we  meet day to day will have such skills. Continue reading “How can you improve someone’s day?” →

There are probably 5 holes in your bucket

What is a bucket list?

No doubt you have seen the film The Bucket List, the idea which has inspired many people to review what their most important tangible goals are.  Climbing a mountain, running a marathon, having a sports car, visiting a certain place, learning something new and so on.  Many bucket lists and plans tend to be focused around things, going, doing, seeing and having, yet surely there is more to life than just things?

There is a far deeper, more meaningful aspect which is easily overlooked and forgotten…  Continue reading “There are probably 5 holes in your bucket” →

How could redundancy affect your pension?

How could being made redundant affect my pension?

Just when you thought you had it all sorted, one of the few people to still be in a final salary pension scheme, a good salary, and making additional pension contributions, suddenly, it all goes wrong.

Redundancy sends you on a very different journey indeed.

However, being the diligent person, paying additional amounts into your pension, perhaps maximising your annual allowance of £40,000, the future looks ok, especially with the large redundancy lump sum you are going to be paid in the present tax year.

Then the tax regime comes tripping merrily in your direction : Continue reading “How could redundancy affect your pension?” →

Is my ideal retirement possible?

Is there a chance my retirement may be different?

Many people find that their view and experience of their retirement may be very different from what they expect. Reality can be a pretty harsh awakener (especially if it’s your own retirement).

How do I get a picture of my income in retirement?

In the financial part of the equation, you can of course model, plan and adjust assumptions and figures as you head towards the big day and the rest of your life.  Of course it takes a high degree of  knowledge and skill to get the figures absolutely correct, and with the aid of technology, it is easier to get pretty close, even building in re-runs of the 2008 credit crunch (remember that?).

What if things don’t turn out like I thought?

Even if you have the financial plan in place, it may be that the other side of retirement – LIFE – can all of a sudden, not unfold quite as you had imagined.

What do I want from retirement?

Will your retirement be all holidays and lunches at garden centres? Will it be just looking forward to watching your favourite TV show with an eccles cake and a cup of tea at 3.30pm ?  Or, could it be full of purpose, full of fun, a brand new start?

What do I want to achieve when I finish work?

Frequently people who had such high expectations for their retirement, find that a year or two in, they have managed to find themselves in a rut of mundaneness (they may even be fulfilling their spouses retirement and not even thinking about their own). They may even look back and wish that they had stayed working and be paid to be bored, rather than sacrifice an income and lack little social interaction.

Should I start to plan my life and money?

People just like you are quickly realising that they need to plan their retirement just as they plan their future.  That planning is not just about scheduling in a month-long break to Malta each October, but figuring out how each day and week may look for you.  What will you do to happily fill the time, and regain your purpose and passions which may well have been put on hold for 50 years (whilst ‘grown up life’ for in the way).

Is there more to retirement than just money?

Finding your happy retirement is not just going to be attached to a number – a certain amount of income, especially if all those years lack fun, freedom and a real purpose. You will probably find that the things which bring you the most joy, may not even cost much at all, you just need to find them and not be trapped in a retirement bucket.

Together we can bring some Serenity to your life

 

How bad is commuting for your mental health?

Many of us acknowledge that the journey to work is a real drag, that arduous commute, changing from 1st gear to 2nd, or jammed into a stuffy bus or tube train.  That is no way to make you feel uplifted and positive about the day to come – far from it!

How has commuting changed?

According to research by the University of West of England (analysing 26,000 people over 5 years), not only has the commute time increased by 25%, but 1 in 7 spend more than 2 hours commuting every day – that is 10 hours a week!

What is the impact of commuting on your mental health

An increase in stress and worsening of mental health for workers (not to mention the impact that then has on their families).  There are of course only 24 hours in each day – so choosing how to spend them is a very important task indeed. Continue reading “How bad is commuting for your mental health?” →

How to keep your routine going when travelling

How do I stop travel distorting my daily routine

It’s not easy building and developing a regular daily routine of eating well, caring for the body and mind, and generally looking after yourself.

Once you have established one however, travel, holidays or being in a different environment seem to take a swipe from the side, pushing you off track. Be it travelling to a different city for work (which if you do often enough, can then develop its own routine – such as finding a yoga session in a sleeper compartment on a train), a two week holiday, or a visit to friends or family, this disruption or disturbance can dramatically cause you to go off track, and potentially jeopardise the regular routine when you return to your normal environment.

How do I keep my routine when others don’t embrace it?

Perhaps the greatest challenge is staying with others who are not aligned with your own routine.

Does it appear unsociable to head off for a run, to lock yourself away to meditate, or to spend that 30 minutes a day focussing on the project you have committed to? Maybe in your own mind it does, but just think about the last time you had a guest to stay, and they took time out to spend some time on a task they are dedicated to (or turned down a slice of chocolate cake). How did that seem to you?

Will people be upset if I do my own thing?

Rather than being offended at your guest’s need for time, it is more likely that you admired their dedication, commitment and desire to move forward, and at the same time, opened up a great discussion about their routine.

Can I inspire others with my routine?

Rather than feel ashamed or uneasy of your regular routine when travelling, embrace the adapted version, be proud of it, explain it to others, and act as their inspiration to move themselves forwards.