The Greatest Threat to Retirement is Procrastination

What do you think is the greatest threat to your retirement?

 

Is it this election and who may win? Maybe you think it’s the Democrats, maybe you think it’s the Republicans, maybe you think it is taxes, maybe the greatest threat to your retirement is inflation, or what the government might do.

 

When I asked a question there could be a hundred different answers and what your current situation is. Right now, considering the current climate with COVID and uncertain futures, you may think that at this moment the greatest threat to your retirement is this election.

 

I’m going to tell you something; none of these things is the greatest threat to your retirement.

 

The greatest threat to your retirement is procrastination. 

 

I know that might sound crazy and elementary, but it’s so true. Here’s the thing, we cannot control what happens in the world. We can do our job, we can vote, we can pray, we can do all of those things, but in the end, we cannot control what’s out there.

 

What we can control is our situation. We can set up our financial future and understand that no matter what may happen, we will be okay.

 

How Does Procrastination Affect My Retirement?

 

However, the reason we may not get control of our future is that it is easier to push it off. We may not be interested or don’t want to deal with it, but then that procrastination becomes the greatest threat to your retirement. It is a far bigger threat than anything else we’ve covered.

 

I was thinking about this the other morning when I went on a bike ride. I was up early, did some work, read my Bible, and was getting ready for a bike ride before the kids got up. 

 

On this particular day when I got my bike out, it seemed that my tire was a little low on air. At the time I didn’t think it was a big deal and decided to head out on my bike. I didn’t want to take the time to test the tire and potentially have to put air in the tire.

 

I ended up heading out and about halfway through this bike ride I thought, “Wrong choice!”

 

Let’s just say that because of my procrastination, because I hadn’t taken the time to check the tire and fix it I had a long, hard ride home.

 

I found it out that it’s a lot harder to ride on gravel or up a hill when your tire is not fully inflated. I learned a lesson the hard way that procrastination hurts.

 

That is so true with our life, with retirement, with financial planning, and with anything else in life that needs to be taken care of. 

 

I would even venture to say that procrastination is not only the greatest threat to your retirement but probably the greatest threat to your success. 

 

How Do I Avoid Procrastination When It Comes To Retirement?

 

Want to learn how to avoid procrastination altogether? Listen closely, because I am going to give you the key to overcoming procrastination.

 

I know you’re on the edge of your seat right now, just waiting to hear my procrastination solution!

 

Here is the key to overcoming procrastination – it is as simple as A B C.

 

We’re going to help you make a decision so that you can be successful and not have to deal with procrastination at all. Here’s what I want you to do.

 

If you have a pen and paper, write this down. If not, do this exercise later.

 

On one side of your paper, in the left-hand corner, put the letter ‘A.’ On the right-hand side, in the corner, you’re going to put the letter ‘B.’ Now in the middle bottom, put the letter ‘C.’

 

On your paper, the A, B, and C should form a ‘V.’

 

The ‘A’ is where you’re at. If you’re doing retirement planning, financial planning, or any other planning, the ‘A’ represents where you are right at this moment.

 

The ‘B’ is where you want to be. What is your bright, sunny future? What does that retirement look like for you? 

 

Is it traveling the world, spending the time on the lake fishing, taking care of your grandkids, or starting a new career? Whatever it is, I want you to write it up.

 

I’m not looking for simple things. I want you to spend time thinking about what you want for your feature and really clearly picture in your head what you envision your future to be. What is the ‘B’ and where do you want to be?

 

Once you’ve spent time doing this, then you look at the ‘C’ below. Here is where I want you to put the consequences of not getting to ‘B.’ The consequences of staying where you’re at. We’re going to call this your crappy future.

 

Really think about the consequences and what you’d have to deal with in your future if you did not make it to ‘B.’

 

For example, let’s say that you’re dealing with retirement. One of the consequences could be not having enough retirement income, running out of money, losing too much in the market, not feeling secure, not having the financial peace to be able to enjoy retirement, or not getting time to spend with your grandkids.

 

So just as much as you clearly defined your ‘B’ you also need to clearly define your ‘C’ and what would happen if you didn’t make it from ‘A’ to ‘B.’

 

How Do I Build an A to B Retirement?

 

In order to bridge that gap from ‘A’ to ‘B’ it may seem like a huge task. As I was watching this video on Mount Everest and they’re crossing these ice caverns with a ladder and the whole scene looks so scary, I thought about people who might feel that scared about getting from their ‘A’ to their ‘B.’

 

I will promise you it’s not, okay? It’s not quite as simple as that Fidelity green line where you’re able to just walk out your door and into a great retirement, but it’s not as challenging as you may think either.

 

Once you figure out where you want to go, we can help you figure out where you’re at now and how to get to your ‘B.’ It is a lot easier to take little steps to get there, and sometimes that’s all that needed.

 

The problem is that if you don’t start taking those little steps and procrastinate, you won’t stay at ‘A’ but rather start sliding down to ‘C’ and that crappy future that you don’t want.

 

The key to overcoming procrastination is as simple as A, where you’re at, B, where you want to go, and C, what the consequences might be if you don’t make it to ‘B.’

 

You can find out more about this on our website and even download our “4 Steps to Dream Retirement” to help you to discover where you’re at and guide you through to where you want to be.

 

Watch that video course and as always, reach out to us with any questions.