Against The Wind

I love Bob Seger and the Silver Bullett band, and still crank up the volume when one of their oldies tunes starts playing. My favorite is “Against the Wind.” This song is a reminder that conforming, for the sake of conforming, never makes anybody’s life easier. You’ll always be “runnin’ against the wind,” so…make your life—yours, and stick to your guns. It will make the struggle much easier.

I was recently listening to a Freakonomics Podcast Why Is My Life So Hard that talks about why most of us feel we face more headwinds and obstacles than everyone else—which breeds resentment. We also undervalue the tailwinds that help us—which leaves us ungrateful and unhappy. How can we avoid this trap?

So how do we break the cycle of running against the wind? The crux of the podcast message is that we need to focus on gratitude. Gratitude is the readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.  Since we are just getting into a New Year I am going to try a new tradition by starting a gratitude journal.  My goal is to write down something that or someone who has helped me that I should be thankful for.

I want to make you aware of the winds that will be obstacles to happiness in life by applying this to money/goals/finance. Greed and envy seem to be very high on the list. We are all different and have unique goals and values. We strongly advocate that you spend your time on life experiences and less on things, which have a fleeting effect when it comes to one’s happiness. “Against the Wind” is about trying to move ahead, while keeping your sanity and integrity intact.

I encourage you to start a journal or at least think daily about what gratitude means to you. Mental attitude is half the battle.