January, the motivating month for finances
Good habits and resolutions can make all the difference in 2017, writes Martin Hawes.
In January, there must have been at least a dozen articles about New Year resolutions in the various media. You are forgiven if you think you have seen it all before and simply flicked on to another page with a feeling of ‘‘same old, same old’’.
And yet, I doubt that these are just page fillers for editors facing a slow news month. I suspect that there is a demand for these articles.
After all, we do tend to use the New Year to reset our lives and try to improve ourselves. Gyms find they take on more new subscriptions in January, as do weight-loss programmes. I know financial advisers get a lot more enquiries after the New Year.
You may feel tired of articles on New Year resolutions, but don’t dismiss them too easily, because you should not underestimate the power of setting goals.
It is easy to sling off at New Year resolutions and to doubt their effectiveness, but planning what you want and how you are going to get it is no bad thing - and if it takes a hangover on New Year’s day to do that, so be it.
The key to a successful resolution is that you know what the ultimate benefit to you will be. You know that the goal is to lose weight – but that is not the ‘‘why’’ or the ultimate benefit. The ultimate benefit of losing weight is something like better health, becoming more attractive to the opposite sex, or being able to run and play with the kids.
Similarly, you may resolve to save for a new car – the ultimate benefit is not the savings, but the car that you purchase.
This ultimate benefit is likely to give more motivation and stickability than anything else.
A new behaviour such as dieting, exercise or saving money will require willpower. You need something a lot more attractive and motivating than a bigger bank account or some lost kilograms to get you started.
Instead, you need the ‘‘why?’’ constantly front of mind: it is the healthier more energetic you, the candle-lit dinner or the shiny new car that will get you going.
This ultimate benefit needs to be something that is important to you – something that you really, really want.
Choosing the ultimate benefit and focusing on that is the key to successful resolutions.
Remember Jim Rohn’s quote: ‘‘It is motivation that gets you started. It is habit that keeps you going.’’ If we can get started (whether it is weight loss, exercise or saving money, and keep with it for long enough), the behaviours we want become habits, and require no motivation or willpower. It is that kick start - with a few weeks of the right behaviour - that is difficult and requires the motivation. The habit follows if you give it time.
Most New Year resolutions fail because there is not enough thought about the ‘‘why?’’.
Resolutions at New Year work – but only by clearly establishing the ultimate benefit and focusing on that for your motivation.
Martin Hawes is the Chair of the Summer KiwiSaver Investment Committee. He is an Authorised Financial Adviser and a disclosure statement is available on request and free of charge, or can be found at www.martinhawes.com. This article is of a general nature and is not personalised financial advice.