When I was growing up in Washington, Georgia, in the heart of the eastern Georgia Piedmont, there was a cross – stitch pattern that hung in a frame on a wall in my house. It was called, “The Serenity Prayer”, and it looked a lot like the picture below. At least that’s what I remember it looking like.
I don’t know if my mom cross-stitched this or if it was passed down from another relative. But what I do know is that I read that cross-stitch almost every week, and as a kid it was completely lost on me. I mean, I knew it was saying, but as a teenager I had no idea what it was meant. By the time you hit fifty, though, you begin to have a pretty good idea of what it meant. Doing it is the hard part.
We are a culture oriented around action. If we see something wrong, we change it. If we see something is broken, we fix it. It’s our DNA. To suggest otherwise is downright un-American.
Except some things are bigger than and beyond us. Spring will never come before winter. Economies ebb and flow. People act in mysterious ways for reasons that are often lost on us. Some diseases have no cure. People aren’t going to change their politics no matter how cogent your argument on Facebook.
This isn’t to suggest a life of passivity. Quite the contrary. But over time I have learned the wisdom of directing my energies to activities that can actually affect an outcome and not lose sleep over the other stuff. In other words:
Focus On What You Can Control
This is where we try to take our Clients. Financially, there are plenty of things outside our control: the economy, the stock market, HR, if we get sick, if a relative needs care, Congress, to name a few.
But there are plenty of things we CAN control that have an enormous impact on our long-term financial outcomes: saving, controlling debt, having the appropriate insurance and legacy documents, diversification, investment discipline. I could keep going.
We view our job as building and executing processes on behalf of our Clients that help them focus on what they
can control so they can better invest in the things that are important to them.
We welcome the opportunity to discuss how we help our Clients in this endeavor. Reach out to me (ppeeler@intfingroup.com) or Jennifer Acosta (jacosta@intfingroup.com) to set up a time to speak confidentially.
This material is for general information only and is not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. Securities offered through LPL Financial. Member FINRA/SIPC.