In the Pretty Money Club, I use a lot of THEMES to inspire learning and conversation. Every month, we have a new theme and I teach weekly lessons based off that theme. Last month was RESP’s. The month before was wills. During my grocery challenge I teach a system for shopping that uses meal-themes to help make dinner time easier (you know… Taco Tuesday, Meatless Monday…) I’m a fan of themes… because it helps us shift into a mindset.
I was thinking about the theme for 2020… and no. I’m not gonna say “Pandemic themed.” I think we gotta go deeper than that. I think 2020 is the year of re-definition. Of re-evaluating. Think about it… a LOT has changed. Our routines were upended. Our schedules thrown out the window. We’ve adapted and changed in MANY aspects of our lives.
Our relationships might look different now than they did back in March. Some people have exited unhealthy relationships. Some people have realized that they LOVE being around their partner and have achieved a new level of intimacy and security. We’ve had to think about who we are prioritizing in our “safe bubbles.” We’ve glimpsed a little bit about how our friends respond to change.
Our routines and social habits have changed. Maybe we couldn’t go to that class at the gym for awhile… and we feel the impact on our mental health as a result. Some introverted people are feeling more comfortable going to stores than they have before as a result of less crowding and more personal space becoming the norm.
Obviously, many of us have felt the impact on our finances. Some lost jobs. Some simply rearranged their budget to move vacation money into “make my home office work better” money.
Although different is going to look different for everyone (ha-ha) … I think we can all agree that our lives have been altered. So let’s think about the theme of renewal. What areas of our lives need to be redefined or re-evaluated? What are the choices we need to make about those areas? Some areas that come to mind are:
- Spiritual life
- Emotional well-being
- Family dynamics
- Job or career priorities
- Purpose and goals
- Physical fitness
- Friendships
- Budget
- Our futures
There are a million other ways to say redefine:
- Reconsider
- Revise
- See in a new light
- Review
- Amend
- Change your mind
- Give new meaning to
- Renew
I’ve always liked the concept of “renewal.” Even though humans by nature tend to fall into habit and routine, I think that we all NEED renewal every once in awhile. And this concept came up just the other week with a client that I’m coaching.
We were discussing her budget for probably the 10th time in 8 weeks. I encourage people to consider their budget plan as a living, growing, changing thing because any time we cross a major life event or realize a new dream we have to be sure our financial plan aligns with our new shifted reality. With this particular client, however, we revisited her budget A LOT in a short amount of time because her budget just wasn’t working. It still didn’t feel right. She is a very successful woman and yet still didn’t have enough money for the things she wanted to prioritize. And then it occurred to me that this particular client was holding on to long-term commitments she made YEARS ago. And they no longer fit her life.
Delving into the realm of cancelling commitments can be a daunting task for many women. Many of us are givers by nature… and we give so much! Our time, our energy, our money, our love, our tears. But if we are giving too much of ourselves away then we are not showing up in the areas that we actually want to at 100%.
For this client… it was a revelation! She realized that she needed to create new boundaries for a healthier work life balance, free up time on the weekends for herself, cancel some memberships and subscriptions, say no to an annual (costly) commitment that she didn’t enjoy anyway (even though it may temporarily ruffle some feathers), and work on feeling comfortable NOT buying elaborate expensive gifts (she felt as though she set a precedent for expensive gift buying and assumed that now those recipients would expect it… a lot of assumptions.)
All of these revelations will redefine how she shows up in her life – with more energy, more positivity, and more confidence.
What in your life needs to be redefined? What do you need to start or restart? What needs deleting? What needs to be tried again? Who do you want to see MORE in your life? Less? What do you want to do in your spare time? Do you want more spare time, or do you want to fill it with a hobby? Do you want to be more physically fit? Do you want to read more? What do you want your house to look and feel like? Do you want to go to the spa? Do you want a new job? Do you want to meet new people? Do you want to be calmer? What do you want to buy? What do you want to sell? Do you want to make more money?
Okay. How are you going to achieve that? What’s the plan? Who’s going to help you get there? Where are you going to learn? How are you going to experience renewal?
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