It’s easy to get pulled in various directions by the various “shiny pennies” in life- money, big house, fancy car, designer clothes, important job title, and so on. By going after these shiny pennies we easily lose track of what matters to us most- loved ones, our health, and pursuing what brings us joy and happiness. We start to compare ourselves to others and enter a race of who has the most stuff when at the end of the day it is not these tangible things that bring us happiness- it is the intangible- feelings of love, acceptance, security, freedom, friendship, family, and more.
Shiny pennies are such a good distraction because they seem to resemble those intangible things that we want so badly. We want to feel accepted by others so we go after the big house because we think that once we have that, people will think that we are worthy of their time and interest when really we are left with no money left in the bank, we are constantly fighting with our partner over bills and in fear of losing the house and maybe even our relationship. We may work hours on end in a job we hate, just because we earn promotion after promotion and now have an impressive job title that would quiet anyone who ever said we wouldn’t succeed, but all of this is at the cost of our own happiness and health.
In the end, we are really just fighting against negative feelings and messages when we go after shiny pennies rather than choosing to live a life that is based on our true values. Once we are able to quiet these negative voices, we are free to live an intentional life that matches our true values.
“I can’t do everything today, but I can take one small step.”
Often times we get caught up by what we want things to be like or what we think things should be like that we get so overwhelmed that we just throw in the towel. It’s easy to get discouraged when looking ahead at the long journey we have before us to reach our goals.
You might be thinking about changing careers and would need to go back to school first. Or maybe you want to start a family but you aren’t sure about how you are going to handle all the ways a baby will change your life. Maybe you feel like you feel like you and your partner are constantly fighting and will never enjoy each other’s company again. Whatever it might be, for some of us, this leaves us drowning in a sea of our own thoughts and fears until we just get so tired of swimming that we give up on that dream.
But there is a way to keep us from drowning and turn that dream into a goal. We need to know what we want and take small steps each day in our life that move us closer to our goal. This might mean looking into financial aid for school, talking to family and friends that already have a baby, or doing things with your partner that are fun and bring back that spark. Whatever it is, you have to decide to choose to live according to your goal and then take small steps each day that move you closer.