When the ugliest thought comes to my head, it's often the fear of not having money somewhat down in the future. This makes my bones melt in anxiety and desperation. I can't possibly imagine a life where I wouldn't be able to take care of myself or my loved ones because I do not have the funding. I feel anxious and then I shake the thoughts off by doing the most amazing thing...... Fear-setting
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I didn't even know that was a thing because I had been practicing it without knowing there is a name for it. Whenever the fear of losing it all in the future crawls up, I began to think about the worst possible scenarios and how I could contain or react to them.
What always happens here is that when I start pointing out what could possibly go wrong that might leave me penniless, I begin to think of ways that I can avoid or eliminate them.
I try to remember every single financial tip I have learned over the years and which ones would apply to the present situation that I could be facing. And this works because, at that point, my mind is no longer focused on the negative aspect of losing money but on the positive ones.
I will always catch myself asking, "how do the big boys in finance deal with financial loses", and I always get a response like, "if even though they have done their due diligence and it turns out to be wrong, they are not moves because they had their six months emergency fund".
I don't know if all the time, the answers my head gives me are correct but they are often close to reality. This is because I always imagine those times, Warren Buffet invested in the stock market for years on end. I try to place myself in his shoes and imagine what he would have done if he were in certain financial situations. I imagined he might have had a buffer before investing so that if things goes south, his family will be sustained.
With this in mind, I consciously tell myself that it doesn't matter what the market does or will do as long as I have a solid financial plan in place that takes cognizant of every loophole then I will be fine.
I just need to keep sure I check all the boxes, in case something goes wrong or right, and how will I react to them. At this point, I prepare myself and my mind mentally for what could happen. And if it does happen, I am well aware I will have the courage to face it.
For you reading this, maybe I am not alone. And you too might have these series of fearful thoughts crawling up now and then. Now, that you have read my story, I am hoping you will see that your fear is no match for a solid financial plan. And that having a plan prepares you for the worst-case scenarios.
You shouldn't even stop yourself from dwelling on these things because by taking the time to think about them, you might be able to identify that those fears are minutes in the grand scheme of things and you could have missed certain financial opportunities if you didn't think about it on time.
People call this fear-setting. And I am a living witness that it could help us overcome our fears, take those calculated risks, and finally achieve financial stability and freedom.