Authentic Wealth is bigger than just financial accumulation – it recognizes the interconnectedness of all aspects of life. It is created when your resources (the 5 levers – Finances, Mindset, Relationships, Health and Time) are aligned with your values, your vision and are ultimately used to achieve the impact you want to have on yourself, your family, your community and the world.
FINANCES
Can money buy you happiness? Maybe not, but how you spend your money can at least increase your happiness according to science…
Researchers Elizabeth Dunn and Michael Norton have five steps to boost your happiness:
- Buy Experiences, Not Material Things
- Make it a Treat (Not an Everyday Occurrence)
- Buy Time
- Pay Now, Enjoy Later
- Invest in Others
Interested in learning more? Listen to “What Science Says About Money & Happiness” with Elizabeth Dunn on the Ten Percent Happier Podcast.
MINDSET
It feels like a lifetime ago when Karen Reivich, Director of Resilience and Positive Psychology Training at UPenn, spoke to our Abaris community in the early days of COVID about building optimism. These skills are as relevant today as they were then.
She presented the 6 key things that optimistic thinkers do and provided questions to develop these in yourself:
- Notice The Positive
What is positive about this situation?
What is positive in other parts of my life? - Focus on Solutions
What resources can I leverage?
What are possible solutions? - See Opportunity
How will I grow from this?
What is exciting about this? - Take Purposeful Action
What productive action can I take?
What is my first step? - Control and Accept
What must I accept?
What is under my control? - Reach out
What support do I need?
Who can help me?
RELATIONSHIPS
Abaris has an exciting virtual event coming up on December 5th at noon. We have partnered with the Legacy Letter Challenge to help our community create a lasting impact on their family and friends.
Blake Brewer started the Legacy Letter Challenge to help parents communicate their love to their children. Blake tragically lost his father in a drowning accident when he was 19 years old while on a family vacation in Hawaii in 2003. A few hours later he discovered a letter written by his father that would change his life.
When I heard Blake share his story, mission, and his program to help people write their Legacy Letter I immediately knew that I wanted to make this available to our clients.
You can register for our live Legacy Letter Workshop here.
HEALTH
Can you sit down cross-legged on the ground and get back up again using only your legs and your core muscles? Easier said than done.
A 2012 study found that the “sitting to rising test” was a significant predictor of mortality in people between 51 and 80 years old. It’s a good reminder for all of us that balance, flexibility and strength are areas that we should include as we think about our fitness and our ability to increase our health span.
To learn more about the “sit to stand” test, check out this article from The Today Show here.
TIME
I love doing the Ideal Week/Month/Year Exercise both for myself and with clients. We will be doing a workshop in January that includes this exercise but, in the meantime, I would encourage you to give it a try.
- Start with a blank week calendar. Think about how your week would look if you got to spend it exactly as you wanted to. What activities are most aligned with your values? What activities move you forward towards your vision and creating impact?
- Start mapping those activities on your calendar as priorities
- Feel free to use categories. For example, if “fitness” is a priority because it is an activity that keeps you mobile enough to play with your grandkids, put that on your calendar each day – you don’t need to specify going for a walk one day versus going to the gym the next.
- You can also add in “flex time” knowing that things come up each day.
- Once you have completed your week, take a moment to look at how you are currently spending your time and see how much it differs from your ideal.
- If your current and ideal are similar, great job! Keep up the good work.
- If your current and ideal are quite different, come up with just one action item that could move you closer to your ideal week. Try that making that one change for a month and see what happens…
Let me know what you discover and keep an eye open for our upcoming workshop.
