PENGUINPOST29 - Flipbook - Page 21
MONEY
BREAKING THE CYCLE
If your money goals keep dropping off the priority list and you want
to understand why that keeps happening, then Small Changes for
Big Results by Warren Ingram and Marc Rogatschnig is a mustread. In this extract from the book, the authors emphasise
how small, manageable steps make for lasting change.
“A
re you tired of making the same
New Year’s resolutions every year
without seeing any progress? Do
you struggle to stick to your goals? If so, you
are not alone. Many people struggle to achieve
the resolutions they’ve set for themselves.
The good news is that the solutions to most of
our problems are within reach – we just need
a road map to get us there. Small Changes for
Big Results provides the tools and guidance you
need to take control of the changes you wish
to make in your life and turn your resolutions
into reality.
Our focus in this book is to help you
understand your relationship with money
and how you can proactively take control
of your life and move in a new direction.
You might not share all these goals, but we
bet that a few will resonate with you. The fact
that most of us share similar life goals and yet
repeatedly struggle to achieve them is a source
of enduring frustration … and unexpected
opportunity, too. Discovering easier routes
to our goals is definitely worth exploring, but
don’t feel dejected if you seem stuck; most
people either do nothing, or do things that are
not good for them, because they don’t actually
know how to start doing things differently.
Other common resolutions include quitting
smoking, reducing alcohol consumption,
spending more time with family and friends,
and improving emotional health and wellbeing. Look familiar too? Ironically, the
knowledge required to address most of these
life goals is freely available to anyone who
can read and has an internet connection.
So, why is it that so many people have similar
New Year’s resolutions and yet seem unable
to achieve them?
Discovering
easier routes
to our goals
is definitely
worth
exploring.
Small Changes
for Big Results
is out now.
We look at the interesting phenomenon
of lost, abandoned and undercooked goals
through the lens of money and emotions.
We believe that money and emotions are
so intertwined that we cannot separate
our attitude towards money from our
feelings about ourselves. If you are stuck
in a repetitive, spiralling money problem,
the solution to that problem could be staring
back at you when you look in the mirror.
Whatever you do, you don’t need to
feel helpless about a money problem,
because you can change your circumstances.
You may simply need some new tools and
insights to find the motivation to get you
moving in a different direction.
Changing your life might seem like an
enormous mountain to climb and could be
so daunting that you are scared to even try.
But you don’t need to make any dramatic,
firework-size changes! What you need to
understand is that change gets easier once
you break it down into small, repeatable
actions rather than taking one giant leap.
To get started, you need to commit to one
small action tomorrow morning. Nothing
major: just one tiny step that starts a ripple
effect that could change the direction of
your life forever. We are not offering a magic
cure for all your problems or an easy way
to achieve all your dreams, but we want to
provide a road map that can guide you to
take control of your life through a deliberate
and healthy relationship with your money.
It always starts and ends with you.
Because no one else can provide you
with the motivation to change your life
sustainably. The motivation to change
must come from within.”
THE PENGUIN POST MARCH/APRIL 2024
19