We are fast approaching the end of 2023, which likely hasn't been the best year for many people, including myself. But, neither was 2022, 2021, 2020...
Do you remember the last really good year?
Because of the way the economy is set up, it means that a lot of what makes a year good or bad for people, depends on how the economy is performing. In good times the majority are flush and not concerned to much with money, or losing their jobs. In bad times however, jobs are lost, cost of living increases and there tends to be more political unrest. When people are suffering economically, governments tend to engage voter feeling mechanisms and drive support through polarization.
We are definitely seeing polarization now.
However, at least economically, we seem to have turned somewhat of a corner and it does look like there will be some decent movement toward the end of 2024 in the mainstream markets. Even at the company I work for which has reduced headcount in the last few weeks, it was more about restructuring the organization to prepare for a shift in the economy, than saving money.
There are different reasons to "save money" in general. There is the type that many are doing now with the spiraling cost of living, where they are trying to save money in order to survive. But there is also the type of saving in order to invest. With most people not having enough money to spend how they like and still invest, sacrifices likely need to be made to build that capital availability.
Sacrifice hurts.
That is why it is a sacrifice. If it didn't hurt, it wouldn't be a sacrifice. However, we are far less capable of sacrificing than we used to be, which might be because we are also less committed and far more comfortable skipping from one thing to the next, rather than owning and cherishing what we hold. And perhaps, it is also because what we hold isn't that valuable anymore. Most of us are renters, not owners - indebted.
While I am not a huge new year resolution person, I do generally say something off the cuff, knowing that I am not really going to put much thought or effort into it.
With exception to reducing living expenses, where is the sacrifice? This doesn't mean that losing weight, quitting smoking or exercising more isn't difficult, but where is no real "giving up of something valued" in that list, with most being the addition of something considered good, or the loss of something considered bad. There is no, giving up of something good.
I think this matters.
We all want more of what we want, less of what we don't want, but we have to also consider that given limited resources, we may have to give up on one thing we want, in order to have something else we want. Give up one love, for another love?
That is crazy talk.
And maybe that is one of the problems we face these days too, where we are unable to adequately prioritize our wants and build hierarchies that we can live by. For instance, we might want to have a nice car, nice apartment, and travel the world - but instead of giving one up to do the other two, we go into debt and struggle, slowly failing at all three. It can come be more personal than this too, where for instance an individual might want to have their freedom, have their career, and have a strong family life, under the assumption that it is possible.
Maybe it isn't.
In times of hardship however, we are forced to evaluate what is important to us materially, and morally. For instance, we could reduce our spending only so far, but at what point do we sell that family heirloom to get money for food? Or, how hungry do our children need to be before we are willing to steal from the grocery store? I am pretty sure that my "don't steal moral" would fail before I would let my daughter starve.
Where are the lines?
And this gives a glimpse into how when in need and people feel they have to make those kinds of decisions, society devolves, polarizes, becomes more tribal, and violent. Our hierarchies get reordered and the "nice to haves" get dropped down the list in favor of the must haves.
While I haven't yet identified what, I think I am going to attempt to make 2024 a year of sacrifice, where I give up on something that I want, so as to build the store of value to have something else I want later. It might be something simple but very hard for me to implement, like to stop eating sweet food, in exchange for better health. Or, it might be something seemingly easy to do, but difficult because I love doing it, like writing less so that I have more time to spend elsewhere.
There is a difference to giving up an addiction, and giving up a love.
Over the next couple weeks, I am going to think on what I am going to sacrifice in 2024 and see how hard it is to give up on what I already have and love. It is easy to make resolutions to obtain what we don't have because there is a gain involved. However, loss hurts more.
If the end of 2024 is going to be good in the economy, I don't just want to be ready financially, I want to be ready emotionally, physically, and spiritually. I am not religious by any measure, but opt-in sacrifice can bring a lot of clarity to what is actually important, and valuable.
I am ready to give up.
I just don't know what it will be.
Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]
Resolutions:
I discovered when I was 18 that I could not handle a lot of alcohol, so I decided then to never get drunk.
So, in the list, I have skipped:
I have no idea. I think a lot of the resolutions people make like this are thoughtless or of the type that they know they don't have a definition for, so they can keep changing the rules.
I quit smoking around the same age you were when you quit, though when you quit I was 21 days old ;)
This actually surprises me! However, a messy desk isn't a bad thing for creativity :)
My wife is a bit flaky with exercise, but since the stroke, I don't have any motivation and really need someone to come with me regularly for me to maintain it. If she skips a week, I quickly devolve. If she skips a day or two, it is fine. I also believe that exercising together strengthens relationships. A walk is time to spend just being in the company of someone we care about.
Isn't this a bit unfair. You kind of belittle the losing weight, quitting smoking, and exercising, and yet you were thinking of something similar with stop eating sweet food. All of those are for better health. Losing weight means eating less than normal, and possibly no sweets. For smokers, smoking is like a drug, and quitting can be very difficult and removing something they value. Exercising means losing valuable time spent elsewhere.
I guess it is because people put different value on things. I don't think smoking has any value, but I can understand the difficulty of quitting it for people that have done it for years. For me, I guess exercising more would be up there, since I need to take better care of myself.
Nope. I am no different to other people. However, what I am trying to point out is that when people make their resolution to "lose weight" (which they see as a positive action, they aren't making a sacrifice at that point. If perhaps they said I am going to cut out watch "xyz show" and during that time exercise, that sacrifices something. Does that make sense?
I have quit smoking after being a smoker for well over a decade. It is hard. But, "quitting smoking" isn't a sacrifice, as it is something wanted. The quitting is a gain. Similar with exercising more - it does mean sacrifice in other areas perhaps, but maybe making that sacrifice the focus will increase the chances of spending that time exercising.
The fact is, most people fail at their resolutions, because we easily fall back into their habits. If we give up loved habits, we will feel the loss and maybe look to fill the void with something better.
I guess we have different interpretations of sacrifice. I'll just leave it at that.
Replace those loved but bad habits, with discipline and good habits. I like that.
Perhaps like bull market good years come after 4-5 bad years? For me 2023 was not bad. My growth on hive was closer to my crazy expectations than my realistic expectations.
That's fantastic!
Sacrifice is not easy and yes it hurts... but we must think long term. I do not necessarily believe that new years is the time for that. But one must be dedicated to the cause.
New years is just a convenient round number bias :)
I don't really feel like this has been a bad year. I don't think the other ones have been that bad either. When I think back on them, it's easier to remember all the good things that happened versus the few bad things that did. This time of year is actually one of my favorite times of year. In a couple weeks I get to look at my investment account and see how much money was added to it due to capital gains and dividends. I'm hoping to hit that five figure mark this year, but I have a feeling I will be well off it.
The big things that have happened have impacted on the small for me I think. However, the last few years have been personally hard for the family, so that makes an impact too.
Do you only look once a year?
No, I look every now and then, but it grows a lot more slowly through the year. I try not to look too much because it's a long term investment and watching the daily ups and downs can drive you mad. I save that torture for crypto.
It's a tough economy and I haven't really traveled much lately at all. Expenses are far more tough and I have been cutting back. Other than that, I don't feel like much has changed other than that. It's just the way the economy swings and it doesn't go that well for us.
Forced to give up and choosing to give up seem to have a different impact on us I think. So many are forced (including me), which makes it hard to choose to give up on other stuff to make room.
There were a lot of good things this year. You became a whale in Holozing :)
Not a whale at the moment - but soon!
I'm also already somewhere in the top 20 :)
Thinking about it is already a good exercise, even if you end up not making any change. If you consider making the sacrifice, it means it is somehow important to you, and evaluating later on if you prioritized something else or if you were or were not able to reach the goal is a nice way to measure your performance in that sense.
I like thinking about my next year's goals, although I usually do not meet many of them, but it makes me think about why, later in the year.
I think it also lets us reflect on what we wanted and possibly failed at in the year gone. Failure is a good teacher. The trouble is when we keep failing in the same way each year :)
Yeah, the "next year" excuse too many times.....
Mine would be reduce sugar, reduce toxic people, increase investments, plan something for old age. And that should be the pattern. I don't know how much of that would turn out to be true but so far has worked for me is the money related stuff everything else just misses randomly. New year resolutions are so hard to keep up.
What sugar are you going to sacrifice? Which toxic person will you remove from your life? Where will you get the money from to invest?
For sure, but why? Normally they are things that we want, so shouldn't they be easy to work for? This is why I am going to try sacrificing what I want, to give space for another want to fill.
If talk economically, I give up one product of two or three due to the high inflation. I can also say that I give up some of my social activites due to the same reason 🤷♂️
But, it is a forced give up? It isn't a true sacrifice, as you aren't offering it up. Does that make sense?
I think it includes self-force too.
I hope it's not giving up writing, even if it means having more time for other things. hahaha. Just kidding. But yeah, now that you mention it, I didn't travel anywhere this year. I dedicated my time to work, basically. In fact, I stopped going to the gym because of the gap in my finances. I also stopped buying books and eating out. I think I made all the sacrifices I could make this year. I hope that next year I will be able to reap and eat the fruits of these sacrifices. I hope, with all my heart, that success keeps knocking on your door and you don't have to sacrifice anything. Much abundance to you, my friend. Greetings
I won't give up writing! But, I might reduce. That is a sacrifice for me - but it is also an unlikely choice, because it has mental and health benefits for me.
Life is full of sacrifice to save money, but I think there is a difference to sacrifice something for other reasons, where we might not need to sacrifice, but it would help us gain in other areas.
Hopefully the end of the year and start to 2024 treats you well!
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I just hope that in 2024, I am able to get prepared for all what I want and I get all the things I want but do you think it is possible to get all what someone wants?
Every end of the year our hope of having a better new year comes up everyone around the world would probably reflect on their poor performance this year as against their high wishes during end of 2022, and here we’re again optimistic, promising, hoping that 2024 turns out better than it’s junior brother
I am hopeful as well and I’m sure ready for enforcing all of my plans to life whether they like it or not, like there is no compromise this time , at least I’ve been freed for most of the things that sucks up my time to do the things that would make me fulfill
You said that you’re not really a new year resolution kind of person but when you said....like giving up something of love for other thing of greater value that is a new year resolution in complete essence of it
I wish you well and pray 2024 be a good to us
Leave Splinterlands out of it 😉
But good luck finder your better life through sacrifice!
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