It’s hard to make a big decision.
“Especially when people want to avoid discomfort as much as they can, and most people will seek pleasure” - Molly Bloom on a podcast with Ryan Holiday.
Back in 2001, graduating from Harvard Business School, my dorm here,
I had the perfect view not only of the Charles River but also I had a perfect job at Goldman Sachs.
Fifteen years later, I couldn’t stay on my current path in my career.
I felt it was too hard to pivot and start my own business seven years ago.
I felt miserable.
I didn’t know what to do.
The only thing I knew at the time was that my kids, my husband were really important to me.
But did I have an obligation to them?
Well, kind of… happy mom, happy family.
I had to decide what to do with my career but with imperfect information.
So I created an obligation in my head, similar to creating a debt I owed my family.
Debt is an obligation, just like financial debt.
Debt creates constraints - it sharpens our focus.
While I didn’t do a discounted cash flow model to quantify my future financial obligations …
I had an obligation to my family, to my kids to figure out my career,
my purpose in my life.
If I didn’t do this; If I didn’t take the risk to figure out my path,
- I might have ended up not doing anything and letting life and time pass by…
- this debt would have compounded and grown.
Here are some examples of when debt made others better off in the long run.
The wife worked as a lawyer, who also had huge student loans and was pregnant and wanted to stay home with the baby…
The husband has a good job so they weren’t sure if they would be ok on his salary….
She was advised not to quit her job, because it might have taken forever for them to pay off her student loans.
A mom wanted her son to go to private college vs UGA because he would have better connections for work. He graduated with tons of student loan debt.
So what did he do? He lived at home, got a high-paying job working in finance and paid off the loans in 2 years.
It was painful:
- for me to go back to school and study 8 hours a day for months to pass my Certified Financial Planner exam.
- for the new mom to find a nanny, work while on little sleep.
- for the young man to live at home while many of his colleagues lived independently.
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson
“Who you are is defined by what you’re willing to struggle for.”
Looking back now, I have a better view of my future than seven years ago.
And it was all worth it.
If you are wrestling with a big decision, sometimes it can help to talk it out with someone.
I'm here.
Tiffany Kent
Your Friendly Wealth Engagement Guide,
Tiffany@wealthengagement.com
Empowering women to take control of their future!
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