Data, Feelings, and Seeing Yourself on Camera

We had our first Office Hours session two Fridays ago, so I thought it would be fun for my inaugural blog post (hi, this is Meg!) to write about what I took away from that experience. Hopefully it gives you a sense of what we’re trying to do with Office Hours in general, too, and if you’re so inclined, you can watch the full recording at the very end of this post.

If you’d find it useful, we’d love for you to attend our next session this Wednesday, April 1 at 5:30pm Pacific. A button to sign up is at the bottom, and I promise there will be no April Fools’ jokes (Brian on the other hand…).

What I’ve reflected on since

1. Look at data, embrace logic, but give yourself permission to feel feelings. Repeat as needed.

   As a financial professional, I’ve felt mostly grounded during this bear market because I understand how these things work. I’ve enjoyed the opportunities I’ve had over the past couple of weeks to share that knowledge with others, hopefully helping them see that stock market downturns are to be expected from time to time. 

   Still, not going to lie, I’ve had some very difficult days trying to wrap my head around what we’re facing as humans. I know I’m not alone in that. When I allow myself to really sit with it, this pandemic feels like the reality check of all reality checks. I find myself thinking and dreaming about what the world could look like when we come out on the other side of this—sometimes sad, sometimes hopeful, but mostly overwhelmed.

   Meditation has helped. Having a financial plan has helped. Access to factual resources has helped. But I still think it’s good and healthy to feel the whole range of emotions.

2. Take time to revisit your financial plan.

   I know we all have approximately a million things running through our minds these days, so who really has the time to go through their finances right now when we’re worrying about our friends, family, jobs, and sanitizing every surface imaginable?

   I’m a big believer that our finances affect us more than people like to admit. During Office Hours we chatted about the merits of paying less attention to the news/social media/the stock market, but now is not the time to ignore our money.

   Talking about our finances can be painful as-is, and what some of us are going through at this moment—account balances dropping, loss of employment, uncertainty and instability—doesn’t make it any more fun to start the conversation. But, for many people there is light at the end of the tunnel. There is still a great deal that is under your control. Being educated and empowered about your financial standing is, I think, a fantastic step to take if you want to feel peace and clarity during an uncertain time.

   In other words, shoring up your finances can give you the mental and emotional freedom to focus on things that matter more, like supporting others through this. I have several personal examples of this, which I could share later if you’re interested.

   If you don’t have a plan or aren’t sure where to start, contact me anytime. I’d love to help.

3. A little silly but… seeing yourself on video must be some form of torture, right?

   We all have insecurities/quirks that come out in our body language or the way we talk. It’s uncomfortable, but helpful, to become more aware of my own!

Thank you to everyone who attended and watched the recording so far. We promise to get better at these and welcome any feedback. If you can, please leave a comment and let us know what you liked, what you didn’t like, and what you want to see next time.

And we hope you’ll sign up for Wednesday’s session at 5:30pm Pacific. We wanted to try a time after work hours in case that’s a better fit for more people. We’re looking forward to it, and your interest keeps us motivated and excited to do more!

Stay safe, at home, and take care.