Sunday, August 1, 2021 (Day 213)
NEW Relaxing Music for the week: Letting Go: Liquid Mind (9:17) – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrCID0gUtZ8
Question: Describe your relationship with money in five words or less.
Answer: Today is August 1st, and the topic this month is about money. This should be a good month for me because this is one of the areas that I think I’m doing pretty well in my life. Of course, one can always do better, but it’s an area where I’m more comfortable than I was, let’s say 7 or 8 years ago.
Five words: “Comfortable, focused on the future.”
These five words were really easy to come up with; in fact, it took me about 2-3 minutes to come up with original statement, then two modifications to fit the prompt best for me. Right now, I have been able to come up with money for cash on hand, my own emergency fund, a joint emergency fund for Rebecca and I, and two different retirement accounts. Everything I do with regards to money is for both the here and now and for the future. I remember the times, after I got divorced and had to give up most of my retirement account in 2005, I was basically living check to check. I was putting away some money, but focused on providing for myself and in child support for Amanda and Bethany (plus trips to see them and gifts for birthdays and the holidays). When my parents passed away in 2016, my sister and I were left a little bit of money; that, combined with my retirement account with work, has definitely provided some peace of mind towards the future. And with the only debt being a house payment, that’s definitely a plus. I really want to make sure that life is good when retirement comes; and if I end up passing away at some point in the future, I know that my family is taken care of. And that’s a big deal to me, since I don’t spend money on too many things (no more golf club purchases for me).
Monthly Reflection: What did I learn about myself this month?
Which of the prompts this month were most challenging?
- Most challenging prompt: “Write an unsent letter to someone with whom you want to make amends.” I believe that is the only prompt that I actually didn’t write a truly honest and authentic response to because I didn’t want to put those words on paper for all to see. There were definitely some pretty raw emotions when reading that prompt, so not sharing my initial thoughts were definitely the way to go for that one.
Which of my answers most surprised me?
- Reflecting back on my answers this month, there was nothing that surprised me about my responses to the prompts. But of all of the months I’ve done so far, the “Growth” prompts were the best so far. What I have realized through these prompts is that it’s time for me to take “disciplined, consistent, persistent massive action,” Grant Cardone style.
Based on what I’ve written, one action I want to take over the next month is…
- Not one action, three but actions:
- 5-minute meditation every day.
- Yoga at least three times a week.
- Journaling on my three wins today and three wins to strive for tomorrow.
- Today is the day to start.
The Dream Dean 