Everyone knows and can readily quote their favorite sports analogy. I’ve spent the past two years simplifying my life, career, and finances, and have picked up a few things along the way. I’ve learned through trial and error, by studying those who have already achieved their goals, and by having a genuine interest in self-improvement. A common theme I’ve found in successful people is this: When it comes to their life, they’ve set things up so they can play offense, and not defense.
WHY PEOPLE END UP PLAYING DEFENSE
Many people spend their whole life playing defense. It usually isn’t a conscious decision; it just ends up that way through years of accumulation. Society often encourages us to follow a certain path. Things like college, marriage, buying a home, or having children are all great things, but its easy to feel the need to do them all at once, or in a certain succession. Our culture also encourages consumerism and makes it extremely easy to purchase things, particularly on credit. Its an easy trap to fall into, that line of thinking of if someone is willing to borrow me the money, then I must be able to afford xyz item. But decisions like that lead to a point where your future decisions become reactive. A few years back, I found myself in the same scenario. All of a sudden, my income isn’t going where I wanted it to, but rather to meeting obligations based on past decisions. By the time you stack up years of this behavior, you can find that you don’t have much to show for it. It also leads to a life of higher stress, with more to keep track of and more to worry about. This is playing defense.
HOW TO PLAY OFFENSE
It begins with a change in thinking that eventually snowballs into a change of actions. Simplify. Reduce debt. Learn to embrace the challenge of living on less than you make. Picture future outcomes 6 months or more before making large purchases. Practice delaying gratification today for increased and greater gratification in the future. Once you get used to it, you’ll find that what seemed like a sacrifice was no trouble at all. In fact, I’ve found that by doing this, I’ve actually not only helped my future self, but my present self as well.
Owning fewer things is easier. I have less to worry about and keep track of. I don’t want the latest and greatest of everything, and believe me, I still buy plenty of things. But they are done after spending a little extra time thinking about if I really need it and how those purchases could influence other outcomes down the road.
The financial side is really only one aspect of it. How you give your time and how many things you say “yes” to is another example. What it really is is a whole mindset of small changes that is slightly shifted to put things in our favor, and on our timeline. When stacking up these changes over time, great results can happen.
There are amazing residual benefits that come from overcoming a challenge. You feel confident and ready to tackle the next one. The next part is really fun, and the possibilities are endless.
This is playing offense.