Part One of a Three-Part Series:
Our brain does this thing when we are beginning a transformation - it goes off like a fire alarm
🚨🚨🚨 and does anything it can to prevent the change from happening.
Whether you are moving to a new town, unpacking beliefs about racism in America, or starting a new budgeting process… it requires us to do some work. And, let’s be clear: those examples listed are not weighted the same. Things that lead to real change and require zero effort—that’s like the extra $10 you found in that pair of jeans you wore a few weeks ago… cha-ching. It doesn’t happen often.
Ps… if you find $10 often in your jean pockets -
clean them out once and a while, would ya!
The two examples that are most prominent to me right now:
Example One
Unpacking what it means to be a white woman at this time in history. I have found the words of Martin Luther King, Jr. to be hauntingly truthful.
I was of the belief that we were sort of in the clear from racism. I wasn’t seeing it, so it must not be happening... I so naively thought. I look at all the Black icons in the activism space whom I follow, and it’s clear my sentiment stemmed from my white privilege. “Oh look, there’s no racism here; we had a Black President.” Laughable.
Example Two
I am changing my career path (ps… I despise the term “career path.” Do you have another phrase we can use there?)
After graduating with my B.A. in Business, I decided to go back to school to become a Sign Language Interpreter. It required another three years of school on top of the four I just finished (and I didn’t come out with a Master’s degree. I got an AAS in Sign Language Interpretation. damn... I’m clearly still bitter about the no Master’s thing).
And until recently, for the past twelve years, I have been a full-time sign language interpreter. It’s been my identity, my passion, and my community. But that full-time status has gone down to almost no time.
Why is that, you may ask (other than coronavirus)? My husband and I made a pact to always follow our dreams, no matter how “out of reach” they may seem. He is working on getting his invite to the Bassmaster Elite Series, and I am launching my Money Coaching business. It turns out that I am in love with the dream of guiding other people to feel the weight lift off their shoulders when they are financially independent.
These two changes... I want them AND they require effort.
Now, in 2020, is the time to embrace change, my friends. Let’s show the world how unafraid we are. And, as Tim Ferriss would lament, you can choose… do you prefer unhappiness or uncertainty?
Here's to you!
Melissa Mittelstaedt
Money Coach | Accredited Financial Counselor®