Recognizing Your Success or Failure

I recently read an article Incompetent People Really Have No Clue, Study Finds. It's a rather blunt way of putting it, but it’s what we all knew; incompetent people don’t know they are incompetent.    The main point I got out of it is, you have to be able to recognize what you do badly. Then learn from it.

6 years ago I was 40 pounds overweight and obese.  I was in denial about it.  When I looked in the mirror, I didn’t see a fat person – I was thin and active in my teens.  I blamed ‘slow metabolism’ for my lack of weight loss.  It wasn’t slow metabolism – it was lack of exercise and too many empty calories.  I started logging my calories and was horrified to discover the truth.  I was in fact responsible for my own situation.

There was a correlation between how I was managing my diet and my finances. I wasn't paying attention to either.

I started dieting and getting my debt under control at about the same time.  I don’t think this was coincidental.  I sat down with both of them and analyzed what I was doing wrong.  Then I changed.  If the scale (or balance ledger) didn’t budge, I kept analyzing what I was doing.  If I was eating right and exercising, I kept at it.  If I was eating too much happy hour, I cut back (which worked to save both calories and money – double goal efficiency). Neither of them gave overnight results, but over time I made progress. I still haven't reached all my goals, but I'm working on it.

I lost 30 pounds and have kept it off for about 3 years (am working on the last 10).  I got my debt strategy under control about 3 years ago and have been debt free for almost a year.  I have not reverted back to either of my bad habits that lead to my weight gain or debt accumulation.  I recognized what I was doing wrong.  Then I recognized what I was doing right.  There are some things that are beyond your control, as I’ve written previously in Half Dozen Finances Within Your Control.  Recognize the things that are within your control, and do your best prepare for the “Oh crap” situations that you can’t.