by Patrick Carroll
Our emotions and our intellect often interact in the same was as do elephants and their riders. Elephants are bigger and more powerful than their riders as our emotions can be more powerful than our intellects.
When you make financial decisions, do you know who is in charge? Does it matter?
To see if your emotions are playing a starring role in your financial decisions, you can start by answering a few questions on a Tame Your Money Elephant Scorecard.
Or, do you recognize yourself in a statement below?
- I want to get all my money out of the market because if it tanks again, I’ll have to work until I’m 80.
- If I don’t take advantage of this opportunity now, I’ll lose the Deal of a Lifetime.
- With the slowdown in the Chinese economy and tensions with North Korea, let’s to put all my money into gold.
- Mom and Dad never had any debt so that’s my goal too.
- I don’t want to bother my kids with my concerns about money.
Knowing who (or what!) is in control of your decisions matters for several important reasons:
1. Emotions, left unrecognized, can sabotage the decisions of even the most financially savvy among us.
2. Recognizing emotions reduces their influence and this improves your chances of meeting your financial goals.
3. Reducing the influence of emotions helps you to live a fuller, more satisfying life.
If you suspect that there’s an elephant standing between you and your financial (or other) goals, begin with that Scorecard and let’s talk about your situation. Taming elephants is my (our) specialty!
Do You Feel Stuck, Fearful Or Uncertain When Making Financial Decisions, But Aren’t Sure Why?
In his new book, “Taming Your Money Elephants”, Patrick Carroll shows you how you can start to master your emotions and through that mastery, build the financial future you want and deserve. Patrick uses real-life examples from his own practice as an experienced financial planner both for individuals (at Obsidian Personal Planning Solutions) and for business owners (at Obsidian Business Planning Solutions.)
