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Making The Most Out Of Change
Early last year, my son decided to quit his job and abruptly moved across the country to pursue another college degree. He faced various changes in circumstances which prevented him to settle permanently in one place until eight months after the move. Then coronavirus pandemic hit, and colleges around the country closed their campuses and moved classes online. Like most students, he has to move back home temporarily until campuses re-open.
If he has to summarize his past year in seven words, he can use the popular quote by Heraclitus; “Change is the only constant in life!”
He is definitely not alone feeling the frustration of constant change, especially during the current pandemic! But changes, big and small, are very much a part of life affecting us all. No one is immune to it, and avoiding change is just another way to create more stress in life.
Our ability to overcome hurdles and obstacles really depend upon how we react to them. Instead of resisting changes that come along our life journey, there are four ways to embrace and make the most out of them.
1. Change is an opportunity to learn something new (hard skills)
During this pandemic, with stay-at-home order and restrictions to dining at the restaurants, many are adapting to home cooking and baking more than ever. Social media are flooded with recipes and cooking videos. Many who hardly cook before find a new hobby to enjoy. Some learn to be more creative. Others even turn it to a home-cooked meal business.
At workplaces, employees’ resistance to change is one of the challenges faced by managers or supervisors; costing companies significant lost time and productivity. When they implement software or culture change, for instance, employees who are adaptable and show willingness to learn are the ones who excel in their career; compared to their peers who resist and complain about the change.
2. Change is an opportunity to sharpen soft skills
Soft skills, also known as interpersonal skills, are combinations of personal attributes and traits that often determine how well we interact with others. Unlike hard skills that can be learned at school or through training, soft skills relate to emotional intelligence developed naturally or learned through awareness from life experience. The changes we encounter throughout our life are in fact life experiences we can use to sharpen our soft skills. These include but not limited to adaptability, patience, communication, flexibility, creativity, leadership, teamwork, and time management.
3. Change is an opportunity to re-assess current situation
During the current pandemic, businesses suffer and unemployment skyrockets. This can be an opportunity for us to re-assess our emergency plan, as well as budgeting and spending habits. We may save extra money unsubscribing the unnecessary or reduce dining out. We can also plan for a more robust emergency fund to better prepare in the future.
4. Change is an opportunity to step outside our comfort zone
We all like familiarity and security. Staying in our comfort zone keeps us comfortable, safe, and to some degree free from anxiety. But stepping out of our comfort zone is one way to experience and try new things, grow and reach our potential.
To illustrate this, let’s look at this scenario. You have been working for one company for more than 10 years. You feel comfortable, know everyone, and do your tasks so well that practically you can do them with one eye closed. There is no challenge, and you have learned everything you need to. Though sometimes you feel bored and unproductive, you are reluctant to change job due to fear of the unknown.
One day the company has to downsize and you lose your job. This change may seem overwhelming at first; but it is your chance to step outside your comfort zone, and look for another job. You can even explore other opportunities like freelancing or starting a business. There is no doubt that this change requires courage; after all you are stepping into unfamiliar zones. Later when you look back, you realize that the whole experience allowed you to expand your horizon and cultivate a successful career.
It can be scary to dive into the unknown; but when we are open to change, and accept them with open arms, we can make the most out of it. Each changes can become a stepping stone to reaching our potential and finding our true calling. It is common that we hear many successful and happy people find their purpose in life, and end up doing something they’ve never thought they could, after a life changing event.
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Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?
Who doesn’t? Money can’t buy happiness, but it sure helps us get through some tough situations a little easier, and a little less stressful.
The problem is, our society does not instill the importance of setting money aside for saving, let alone investing. We are taught at school and at home to go for higher education to make more money. But sadly, we are hardly educated to manage the money we earn and be financially savvy.
We often hear people making six figure income but still living paycheck to paycheck. When we are not financially conscious, it is easy to spend all or more than we make.
Social media certainly doesn’t help. We tend to compare ourselves to what we see out there in the society. Everyone seems to have all the fun and the nicest things; and we tend to jump into the bandwagon to follow the trend. It is easy to spend extravagantly on traveling and dining out, or buying those expensive bags or shoes.
How Do We Start?
Most people think setting aside money to save and invest is not feasible because they don’t make enough. That is not true. All we need is discipline, patience, and commitment, and let the power of growth and compounding work for us.
The easiest way to save is to automatically set aside money from our paycheck to a separate saving/investment account. This way we don’t spend the money we don’t see. If we contribute to a company sponsored 401K plan, the benefit extends to paying lower tax as the money we contribute to a 401K plan is deducted from our total income. Some companies even match the first 5 – 6% of our contributions, this is like free money going to our retirement account which is too good to pass.
Consistency Over Time Is The Key
The question is, how much to set aside and contribute to our 401K or other investment account? The best way is to start with a minimum of 6% of our salary or income, and then work our way up to 15% or more. To illustrate this, assuming a reasonable long term rate of return of 9% annually, for those who make $30,000/year, setting aside 6% and 15% each paycheck takes 50 years and 40 years, respectively, to amass to a million dollar. With $75,000/year salary and setting aside 6% and 15% each paycheck takes 34 and 24 years, respectively. This example shows that despite income level, it is very possible to be a millionaire when we save and invest consistently over a period of time.
Another question is, how soon do we want to reach that goal? The choice is in our own hands. When it comes to saving, it can feel slow in the beginning, it is therefore important to start as early as possible. The more we set aside consistently, the sooner we reach our goal through the power of compounding.
