Unlocking Your Full Potential: The Power of Aligning Finances with Life Goals
We plan the important events in our lives - weddings, vacations, holiday gatherings, graduations, starting a business, or achieving academic milestones. These occasions often receive meticulous attention to detail and thorough planning. Yet, when it comes to planning our overall life journey, we often fall short. Most people invest more time in coordinating holiday get-togethers than in reviewing whether they are on track for retirement or living a fulfilling life. This discrepancy raises a critical question: Why don't we dedicate the same level of effort to plan our lives as we do for these events?
The Life Planning Gap
In the hustle and bustle of daily life, we can easily lose sight of our broader life goals and aspirations. Many individuals find themselves stuck in jobs or careers that lack fulfillment or fail to align with their deeply held values. Sometimes we “fall into” a career we may never have thought possible. The next thing we know a decade has gone by and we feel as if we cannot go in another direction. This feeling of being trapped or overwhelmed can be paralyzing, making it challenging to contemplate making a significant change.
One of the common stumbling blocks is the perception that finances are a major hurdle to truly living the life we are called to live. It's easy to feel that financial constraints limit our options, keeping us from pursuing our dreams and passions. We think if I only had a bit more money, I’d walk away. Truthfully, it is possible to make meaningful changes and live the life you are called to live. One of the keys lies in aligning your finances with your life goals.
Unlocking the Power of Financial Alignment
Financial alignment is about bringing your financial resources in line with your life's purpose and specific goals. It's a strategic approach to ensure that your financial choices support the life you desire. This process involves several crucial steps:
Identifying Your Purpose and Goals: Begin by documenting your life's purpose and specific goals. This is not to be taken lightly, nor is it a minor task. Start by asking yourself some really big and deep questions. Theologians Miroslav Volf, Matthew Croasmun, and Ryan McAnnally-Linz, in their book Life Worth Living: A Guide to What Matters Most, propose we must ask and answer “The Question.” It can be phrased multiple ways, such as, “What Matters most? What is a good life? What is the shape of a flourishing life? What is true life? What is right and true and good?”
Yes, it’s a huge question. Just by asking and wrestling with it, our perception of life, the world, and our role in it must be challenged. If I can be overly simplistic, as Christians, I think we all have an overarching purpose, to Love God and love others. However, for each one of us, how we live out loving God and others will differ based on our individual calling. Further, I believe our specific calling will (or at least may) change over our lifetimes based on our season of life.
When we are content in our purpose and our calling based on our life situation and season, we can then passionately pursue living life fully. Clarity on our purpose will allow us to have clarity on other aspects of our life as well, our finances being a major element.
Assessing Your Current Situation: Take a close look at your current financial situation, vocation, income, assets, and liabilities. We also need to address any financial tendencies, habits, or biases we may have towards or about money. How do we view financial resources? Are they taboo? Does dealing with money make us uncomfortable? Why or why not? This step helps you understand where you stand today as well as some of the psychological presuppositions regarding money and wealth, we may carry with us.
Assess What the Future Requires: Once we understand what our purpose and calling is in life, we can determine what resources will be needed to live out our life. Will my calling require a career shift? Geographic relocation? Income needs? Training or additional education?
Alignment and Adjustment: With a clear understanding of your goals and financial situation, it's time to align your resources. Together with your financial guide (Financial Planner who can serve as the coordinator for other trusted advisors – tax, legal, and insurance), evaluate your assets and liabilities and adjust as needed to put you on a trajectory to accomplish your goals. Are all the components in your financial life functioning as they should? Are there different strategies you might employ? Are your assets structured in a way that is moving you closer to realizing your goals?
Regular Evaluation: Financial alignment is an ongoing process. Regularly review your goals and financial strategy, adjusting as your life circumstances or economic conditions change and would warrant.
Life planning is not a one-time event; it's an ongoing journey. By aligning your finances with your life goals, you can break free from the constraints that hold you back, whether that's pursuing a more fulfilling career, starting a new venture, or achieving your retirement dreams. Don't let the fear of financial hurdles limit your potential. Take the first step toward living the life you're called to live by creating a financial plan that empowers your goals and aspirations.