Financial Fitness Friday: Consistency Among The Chaos

It may sound horrible, but I hate going to the gym at the beginning of the year. Actually, I’d prefer to work out at home during the beginning part of the year. I’ve built up enough equipment in my home gym to get an excellent workout without any disruption.
Every year, at the beginning of the year, the gym gets clogged with the flood of new resolution chasers. The sale of gym memberships increases, and more people find their way to the gym to begin the work they want to do on their bodies to honor their resolutions. Now, don’t get me wrong—it’s good for them, and I’m happy that they have taken action. But this makes going to the gym at this time a major disruption to the fitness plan I’ve been working on over the past year. The gyms are packed, the weights are all on the floor, the equipment is in use, and my plans have to be adjusted to fit what the gym can handle. I have to pivot!
Similarly, the stress that I feel at the beginning of the year, while others are starting their goals, is the same stress I feel when people push and shove to get into stores to catch the last-minute sales at the end of the year. Some of the busiest shopping days of the year fall between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Shelves in the stores are empty, and it is common to have to go to two or more stores just to find what is needed, causing yet another pivot to finish my desired task. The ability to pivot is what keeps my action-oriented consistency going, even when the plan hits unexpected turbulence.
I’ve learned to build my own financial home gym. This means I don’t crowd all my shopping into the few weeks of the sale; I plan it out, and I’m—if all goes right—able to finish before the fiasco begins. This approach makes for a solidly relaxed holiday season. When the stores are empty or prices spike during the holiday rush, my plan is already in place. I don’t scramble to catch or jump on the last “got-to-haves.” But I can pivot when it disrupts my flow, so it doesn’t break my momentum.
Pivoting is a part of life. Sometimes things will not go as we planned, whether at the gym or in our finances. What matters most is not that we have to pivot, but how fast we can pivot to keep our momentum and accomplish our goals.
Stay physically and financially fit!