Are you prepared to brave the world? Can you handle the unexpected spectacles, the grim situations and the dangers abound?
These questions hit me square in the forehead the other day as I was doing a simple mundane task; tethering together the laces on my well-worn boots to shovel the walk. I thought of a myriad of circumstances where not tying my laces properly could lead to my downfall. In tandem the scenarios sped through: what if it’s icy and I trip on my laces? What if a shoe falls off and my sock gets all wet? What if I had to sprint rapidly? What if I got in an altercation? Or what if I ruin the boots that I have grown so fond of? The list went on. And I thought about how completely avoidable those outcomes were. In this mundane task, tactical risk mitigation was as easy as a firm double knot and an appropriate pair of socks. In contrast, tactical risk mitigation comes with higher stakes and more complexity in life’s key aspects.
Managing your responsibilities to your family, friends, finances, home and leisure time are difficult but essential. Major catastrophes can be largely avoided by being an organized, consistent and gritty risk manager within your own life. A business approach does not meld with matters of the heart; but its efficiency in matters outside the heart frees up the time necessary to devote to love, friendship and community. The below lists are guidelines to risk management (not exhaustive, but comprehensive).
Family – Risk Management
- Marry someone who is on your same wavelength, who you respect and who you would sacrifice for without hesitation
- Don’t marry if it does not suit you
- Try to give your kids a better life than you have had
- Don’t have kids if it does not suit you
- Get premarital counseling before you marry
- Never buy a large asset with a partner who you are not married to
- Always be kind to your Mother
- Remind both of your parents how good they were to you. Also, remember your parents are as human as you. Do not hold them to perfection unless you yourself are perfect
- Thank God or whatever spiritual base that centers you for your family
- Cherish the time you get with your Grandparents. Take their wisdom to heart
- Have fun and make memories with your Aunt’s, Uncle’s and Cousin’s
- Try to attend parties, keep up traditions and show one another love
- Travel to Family, Host Family or do both (preferably)
Friends – Risk Management
- Stay in contact as you progress through life’s stages (tough one, working on it myself)
- Hangout with people that bring positivity to your life. You should feel refreshed after spending time together, not spent
- Share important lessons or transformational experiences with each other
- Show up
- Love deeply
Finances – Risk Management
- Build an emergency fund (4-6 months worth of cash)
- Automate monthly investments (Total about 20% of gross income, 15% tax efficient retirement + 5% short term brokerage)
- Spend on experiences, not flashy items
- Align on financial planning with your partner, seek out advice
- Create an individual financial plan if single, seek out advice
- Lay out your short term (1-3 yrs), mid term (5-10 yrs) and long term (10+ yrs) financial goals
- Fit your lifestyle to your earnings, got to spend less than you earn
- Take on / leverage debt strategically and at low interest rates
Home – Risk Management
- Keep up regular maintenance on key home items (furnace, water heater, appliances, lawn, landscaping, tools)
- Hire professionals if you don’t know what you are doing (i.e. I hire out for all appliance, plumbing, and electrical work because I’m a finance professional. But I mow my lawn and shovel my snow cause that’s low risk and straight forward)
- Understand how to protect your home against the elements and build a seasonal schedule (i.e. don’t let your pipes freeze up if you have a winter season)
- Keep your home neat and organized
- Clean up spills asap, don’t put projects on the back burner. Procrastination will cost you time and money
Leisure – Risk Management
- Carve out time in each day to chill, relax, have fun
- Don’t multitask and call it leisure
- Take ALL your paid vacation days
- When planning a vacation, leave time gaps for you to completely be present and spontaneous
- Know yourself. When you start to get snippy, easily agitated or downright mean; you are probably burnt out or overloaded
- Leave space in your schedule for weekday evenings off
- Spend some time alone. If you aren’t comfortable with yourself, then you need to work on that
- Join leagues, teams, groups that meet regularly and provide you a sense of community
Action Request:
Prepare to succeed, and be able to pivot quickly when you inevitably fail. These guidelines are meant to give you a fabulous baseline and an upward trajectory in the realm of personal risk management. Get organized and be a resilient person.