Using Discernment to Achieve Your Rich Life

Do This to Keep Things In Perspective En Route to Your Rich Life

06.14.2024 - By: Anastasia Barbuzzi

Earlier this week, I interviewed someone I've been pursuing for a long time. Our conversation led to how people's social media presence distorts, hurts, or confuses perceptions of others' lives and what ours should be like by comparison. I watched her face as she searched for a word to describe the importance of separating what we believe people's lives to be from reality, and suddenly, it popped into my head: "Discernment?" I asked.

The literal definition of discernment is "the ability to make a smart judgment about something." It describes a wise way of judging between things or a particularly perceptive way of seeing things.

"Discernment" seemed all-encompassing, considering another central part of our conversation: aligning your values with your spending. It's too easy to be influenced by constant exposure to a person's every move, decision, or message they share online. But the ability to:

a) discern fact from fiction

b) implicit directives from content explicitly marketed as "not advertising"

c) what you actually desire from what you're influenced to

is powerful, potentially life-changing, and prevents comparison from stealing your joy. The key to myth-busting social standards and achieving your rich life is to exercise discernment.

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Navigating the muddy waters of social media is not easy when new content is shoved down your throat rapidly, but what if we stopped to ask ourselves discerning questions when we realize that our ideas of true wealth and visions of our richest lives are not reflecting back to us? Including:

1) What do I really want? (To be a "founder" or to work a more comfortable salaried job?)

2) What am I perfectly ok with? (The home I currently have? A $100,000 salary? Not being "influential" on a grand scale?)

3) How does this serve me? (Diving into a new wellness trend; traveling 24/7)

4) Are my current habits helping me achieve my richest life? (Eating out multiple times a week; investing before you're ready)

5) What really matters to me at the end of the day? (Having a calm nervous system; working for yourself; loving relationships)

Using discernment came up in conversation with my sweet, sweet little cousins shortly after that podcast interview. Whenever we get together, they always have questions for me about $HMONEY. The conversation quickly turned into what types of investments I currently have, and my initial thought was, "Uh-oh, how much do I actually have to say?!"

But there's nothing to be ashamed of. Like many of you who read this newsletter, I've overcome a lot throughout my money story to get to where I am today. I acknowledged my RRSP and real estate investments and how, in the next year, I'd like to explore stocks and ETFs. But honestly, they're not my first priority right now.

Two of my biggest goals this year were funding our month-long trip to Italy (more on my Italian girl summer soon!) and our wedding in July. Not only will my partner and I be celebrating one of the biggest days of our lives soon (eek!), but our honeymoon will kick off an annual tradition of spending one month exploring a different place, mainly to take advantage of his time off in the summer(he's a teacher) and the fact that I can work anywhere in the world (or take extended time off, like I am this year).

So, why does this matter? Achieving these goals is the next step in living our rich lives. They fulfill our love of travel and spending uninterrupted, quality time together, among other things. They also represent aspects of what we consider true wealth: freedom and taking our time back.

It's common to feel guilty and shameful about not starting certain things earlier, like investing in the stock market to optimize the potential rewards (again, how much does that matter to you?). However, using discernment helped me avoid following idealized timelines and stick to mine. It helped me make choices that align with my goals— nobody else's. This is my money story, and stocks and ETFs can make debuts in the next chapter.

Next time you feel swayed by the world, I hope you can use discernment to make empowered decisions about your present and future. It's your journey— nobody else's 📖💚

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Thoughts? Questions? Leave ‘em in the comments below.