This past week, during one of our TV watching marathons, my youngest son and I happened upon “The Wizard of Oz”.
When Glenda the Good Witch began her famous mantra to Dorothy of, “There’s no place like home. There’s no place like home”, I couldn’t help but think of the irony in hearing this famous one-liner right now.
After all, for now, home is the ONLY place for most of us. I don’t know about you, but my home is less than idyllic at this point. I think I need to channel my inner Glenda.
Home is usually the place where we feel most safe and at ease, yet the
fact that we are forced to stay home because of COVID19 instead creates a
dichotomy of sorts, where our being at home is the result of a
precarious situation reaped with uncertainties and anxiety.
What can we do during these times to help us feel less anxious and more
“at home”? We’ve all heard the cliché “control the controllable”. What
is controllable, or even worth controlling, will be different for
everyone, but there are always some things that are within our control.
We can let go of the rest, remembering to not beat ourselves up for
whatever we miss. Whatever it is that will offer stability, a sense of
normalcy or bring joy is what we focus on.
These have been some of my controllables:
- Cleaned out my closet. It helped declutter my mind and I had total control of every decision I made to keep or donate. Hey, control is control.
- Choose to binge watch only happy, funny or heartwarming things. I don’t need the added angst I get when I watch shows like Bluebloods. This, I can control.
- Set my alarm for the same time every day. Granted, some mornings I hit snooze more than others, but the attempt, and the control as to when I start my day, is there.
You may be thinking, “what does this have to do with my finances”?
Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Well, almost nothing.
I’ve already addressed market volatility and the stimulus bill in
previous newsletters. I wanted this newsletter to acknowledge that right
now, while we are in the thick of this, it’s not only about money and
finances. And even in the “good times”, money issues are never black and
white. There is most always an emotional component to money decisions.
We make the best decisions by addressing the human side of things first.
I’ll end with a known fact about the human race.
We are a resilient and adaptable species. We are
problem-solvers. There are already countless ways we have adapted as
individuals, families and as a nation to a situation that 6 weeks ago we
would have thought impossible to deal with. We will get through this
and things will return to normal, because even a new normal eventually
becomes normal over time.