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Give yourself plenty of breathing space
Sunday, 15 October 2006
I come across people all the time who find themselves in desperate situations. Their finances are ruined, their relationships are disastrous and their careers are overwhelming. They've built their lives on top of a giant house of cards, and all it takes is one minor setback to make the whole thing come tumbling down.
Generally, I think such people base their life strategies on a false assumption - that few things will ever go wrong.
They think it's fine to get up to their eyeballs in debt, neglect all their friends, and take on more tasks than one person can possibly do - believing they will always keep moving forward. They use up every one of their resources to the limit, because they think that's the smart way to live.
But they're wrong.
When you've consumed every last bit of your money, goodwill, friendships, knowledge and time, all it takes is one little thing to go wrong for you to find yourself in miserable circumstances. With so little breathing space, the smallest setback can lead you to drown.
And such setbacks will happen. It's guaranteed. In fact, in this messy world, things are certain to go wrong all the time.
Every day, millions of people lose their jobs, don't receive money they were expecting, get dumped by their spouses, get sick, and are stuck in traffic. And that's just scratching the surface. To build up a life on the assumption that everything will go smoothly is just naive.
Take the example of a man I've got to know recently. His paycheck was only one day late, but that led him to default on his mortgage and ruin his credit record. Imagine that, he'd given himself one day's breathing space.
But he didn't see it as being his fault. He blamed his employer and the bank. He couldn't understand that he'd got himself into the situation by sailing too close to the wind with his finances.
Smart people give themselves plenty of breathing space. They make sure they've got lots of reserve cash, friends, time, energy and goodwill. Then when the unexpected occurs, they're not only prepared, they're genuinely relaxed about it.
If a payment arriving a week late would cause you financial stress, it's time to start building a cash buffer in your bank account. If losing your spouse would leave you friendless, it's time to start working on your relationships. If getting stuck in traffic could cause you to lose your job, organize your time better.
Give yourself some breathing space by building up a generous buffer in every aspect of your life. It's simply the only smart way to operate.
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