An Exercise for every Financial Professional

Amar Pandit , CFA , CFP

Amar Pandit

A respected entrepreneur with 25+ years of Experience, Amar Pandit is the Founder of several companies that are making a Happy difference in the lives of people. He is currently the Founder of Happyness Factory, a world-class online investment & goal-based financial planning platform through which he aims to help every Indian family save and invest wisely. He is very passionate about spreading financial literacy and is the author of 4 bestselling books (+ 2 more to release in 2020), 8 Sketch Books, Board Game and 700 + columns.

December 25, 2020 | 2 Minute Read

Take a Pen and Pad. I am waiting. Now sit down and write down the following questions.

  1. What are the Top 3 reasons you wake up every morning? Yes, you can call this your goals. One of the reasons can also be your PURPOSE (why were you born?). You do not need to deep dive into Purpose if you are not clear about it but at least write down your 3 goals or reasons you wake up every morning.
    I am waiting. Take your time.
  2. Now, write down the Top 3 distractions preventing you from achieving these goals.

The beauty of the above 2 questions is that you can do this for any goal or set of goals.

Let us say one of your goals is to Sleep for 8 hours so that you are fresh and energetic in the morning. What are the Top 3 distractions that are preventing you from achieving this TODAY? Let us say one of them is TV at night, you can now make a conscious decision to switch off the TV 1 hour early and go to bed. This is not Sacrificing but taking a Conscious Decision. When we feel we have sacrificed, we tend to go back to the older habits because sacrificing all the time is difficult. However, if you have taken a conscious decision, you now do not view this as a sacrifice but something that is a necessary ingredient to fulfil your goals.

Try this exercise. I would love to hear your experiences.