We talk with folks everyday who are deeply worried about the future. As we listen, we hear fear on everyone's lips. As each question repeats, the level of fear rises, until the pitch drowns out all reasonable thought and historic memory.
What about America? What about the dollar? What about my freedoms and privacy? What about Social Security? What about my retirement?Is the sky really going to fall?
My neighbor says, "Grow your own food and stock up on ammunition."My barber says, "Gold is the ONLY standard, always has been - invest in Gold."I hear on the news, "The American dollar is on the verge of collapse."The political pundits say, "Your standard of living will soon be reduced to that of a third world country. There will be rioting in the streets."Everyone that seems to care about this country is standing around wringing their hands with worry... No one seems to know what to do.Is the sky going to fall soon?
I don't have the nest egg for retirement I thought I would because of stock market declines.I am upside down in my home mortgage.I have investments that I don't understand.I have fears that everything I've worked for will collapse.I worry that I will suffer additional financial ruin if things worsen.Is the sky already falling?
I can't tell what I don't know.I don't really know what I fear; I just know that I'm afraid.I can't tell the fiction from the facts.I don't know who to trust.I'm afraid the sky is falling, and I don't know what to do!
If you find your mind circulating these kinds of questions and concerns, you are likely experiencing what we call the Chicken Little Syndrome. Remember that childhood story about Henny Penny, a chicken that was hit in the head by a falling acorn? Because Henny Penny did not understand what happened, she was convinced that the sky was falling and the world was coming to an end. Henny Penny's fear was so real that she convinced others that disaster was imminent. In the end, Foxy Loxy eats Henny Penny because she is too distracted by her fears to recognize the real danger at hand.
FEAR causes smart individuals to make emotional and hasty financial decisions that most often result in permanent damage to their finances.
How do you know you're suffering the Chicken Little Syndrome and making fear-based decisions? Here are some of the KEY symptoms:
Cure Chicken Little Syndrome with education, preparation, and agility.
EDUCATIONEducation is really about developing discernment: knowing enough to know the difference between fact and fiction, knowing enough to know where the real dangers lie. Fear-based education filters broad information to emphasize only what reinforces the myths, fears, and scare tactics. Remember that these resources, while providing SOME information, are created to manipulate you, not educate you:
Genuine education puts all the information and sound bites into context in a balanced, historical, and comprehensive way. This is not something that you will be able to construct all on your own. What you need instead, is an advisor you can trust that brings these competencies to the table:
PREPARATIONChange is always frightening. Our world is poised on the edge of change. The cure for fear of change is to get actively involved in the process of change. You can do this by preparing your world for change. Proper preparation will help you:
AGILITYMost people fail to take their education and preparation to this final stage. In fact, many financial advisors fail to define with their clients, these fundamental aspects of their financial decisions. Understanding how and when your financial plan needs to change will provide you with the confidence to face the future.
Remember, fear-based decisions made on incomplete (or unbalanced) information produce unexpected results, injecting unnecessary change into an already uncertain world. Hasty decisions made before assessing the consequences, often produce irreversible tax disasters more destructive than your fears about the future. Emotional, knee-jerk decisions may lock you into financial situations over which you have even LESS control than you do now.
Today, take your first step to cure Chicken Little Syndrome, find an objective, knowledgeable tax and financial professional that will work WITH you to discern the facts, prepare a plan, and keep you on track, as you adjust your financial plans in the face of change.
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