‘Net Worth, Worthy, & The Worthwhile’ (Adaptability II)

‘Net Worth, Worthy, & The Worthwhile’

I’m not worthy; I’m not worthy

Alice Cooper

Worth- (of) value, merit, significance, meaning, appeal

Worthy – commendable, admirable, creditable, laudable, praiseworthy

Net worth:  a key measure of how much an entity is worth. A consistent increase in net worth indicates good financial health; conversely, net worth may be depleted by a decrease in asset values relative to liabilities.

On financial balance sheets, the net of physical and intangible assets less liabilities is classified as ‘net worth.’ And even in personal financial planning, net worth (adjusted to assets less objectives cost and liabilities) does not reflect let alone  acknowledge the following assets (increasing ‘worth’ of)

Adaptability and resourcefulness that created the assets

But what I do have are a very particular set of skills

Liam Neeson ‘Taken’

          Each of us has a portion (chalek). This portion/trait may be developed and manifested as a particular set of skills or remain unmanifested. But most have incurred in their life – at one point or another – challenges, difficulties, and in particular financial obstacles – which they have overcome and not unusually due to their ‘particular set of skills.’

          I would often ask clients or participants at my workshops:

·         Have you incurred difficulties and especially challenges at one time or another in your life.?

·         Did you have overcome those difficult situations?

Invariably every client assented and attendees raised their hands.

Yet, where on the balance sheet – the net worth statement – is this adaptability and resourcefulness – recognized let alone monetized?

Currencies come and go – get devalued – ravaged by inflation etc.

And yet, that which we possess – the adaptability and resourcefulness – which assists us in navigating these potential challenges is assigned no value other than a nod to ‘human capital’ by yackety yak’ “I want to be your best friend so I can maintain my 1% asset under management compensation even though robo advisers are now charging 35 basis points or less” financial planners.

And on a spiritual level, especially addressing those who are not only concerned with ‘outliving their money’ but as much now or moreso – seeking meaning IN their life – ‘enough to live on, enough to live for:

·         Our soul curriculum assets –  incompletions of the soul that have been completed or made the progress made toward completing

·         The good done & reflected (inside out) - guilt money, fruit of a poison tree) or for vanity (commemorations, business development and plaques – (and I ain’t talking cholesterol plaque)

And so, net worth – net worthiness is related to tangible and intangible financial assets and or assets which otherwise can be ‘monetized’ shortchanging adaptability, resourcefulness, soul curriculum assets, and the good done – only increasing dependency of on current currencies (as if there is never ‘enough’ which can come and go.

The Yips, Yipes! or Yippee?

 Yips, Yipes! or Yippee?

          There’s always a bust

There will be bear markets.

There will be spikes.

          The market was down in the following period/years:

·         1973-1974 = 43%

·         1987  = 20% down in one day!

·         2008 = 33.8%

Bear markets are typically 18 months and are characterized by a drip drip drip down. That said, however, bulls (up markets) take the stairs up while bears (down markets) take the elevator down. Thus, bear markets go down faster than bull markets go up. (Note psychological studies show it takes 4 positives to negate 1 negative).

Nominal number of spikes/declines in the stock market averages  are confused with percentage declines (especially by the parasite personal financial media pornographers).  A 400 point decline on the Dow Jones’ at 24,000 is but 1.67% - but  looks big – huge – and  the cause of investors to get the yips (heartburn optional) but a 16.7 drop (the same 1.67% decline) on a Dow Jones’ 1000 would go hardly noticed – and not require Maalox.)

The yips are an expression of ‘oh no!’, and alarm, while yipes! (holy sh*t) is an expression of fear. Yippee is a verbal manifestation of exuberance, delight or triumph

Yips escalating to Yipes! and yippee are two sides of the same ‘outside in’ coin of the realm & reign.

Outside In Tool #1 Adaptability & Resourcefulness

With money in your pocket, you are wise

and you are handsome and you sing well, too

Yiddish saying

Our balance sheets (defining ‘net worth’ as the difference between our assets and liabilities) has an asset missing (*). The asset? Our adaptability and resourcefulness that not only created & accumulated the ‘net worth,’ but, despite difficult times, overcame financial & personal  challenges  to allow the replenishing and or it’s net worth increase (to make one’s personal financial goals).

And yet, we and banks etc give no value to our adaptability and resourcefulness on the balance sheet aka ‘net worth’ – instead valuing only the effects not the cause – oneself.

Thus, this is a valuation perspective  of Outside In rather than INside Out.

And so, when the market has its inevitable spikes and bear markets – the yips and yipes! (sans Handy Wipes) take over & occupy – even spiriling into panic (escalated by the hyperbole of the personal financial pornography media). Worse, as a result, this dread may require Baby Wipes per the part of the body ‘expressing’ itself.

An exercise to possibly lower the temperature of the yips, yipes and the necessity for Baby Wipes:

Recall one’s difficult periods life, answer and fill in chronologically the following:

Difficulty                       How resolved                 How stronger for it

1.-

2.-

3.-

4.-

5.-

Did you not endure these periods? Did you not come back from them? Did these periods, in fact, make you, in some respects,  even stronger? Did the descent (difficulty) lead to ascent?

Did money really get you through these periods or did your own adaptability and resourcefulness  ability allow you to figure it out?

And, in the future, should, for example, a devaluation occur, will it not be your adaptability and resourcefulness that will see you through to secure the "currency of the realm" to accommodate to the situation?

We confuse money (the current currency) with our wealth - our resourcefulness and adaptability to ‘figure it out.’

Outside In Tool #2  Ignored due to the pursuit of More for perceived LACK):

18 months preferably for cash near cash to weather the inevitable bear markets minimizing the yips, & yipes! From the  emotional reactions jeopardizing one’s personal financial planning – co  one can ‘all weather it out’ the storm

          Stipulating when I was in a fee only personal financial planner one  cardinal rule of my ENOUGH practice, writings, and workshops:

One manages goals not assets

A tactic of the above rule was to have 6 months in cash, money markets – and preferably 18 months (the typical bear market so one doesn’t make an emotional whipsaw mistake) subject the financial goals and tradeoffs thereof.

Forget 18 months – 6 months was tough enough – as there would be complaints ‘it lowers our rate of return relative to the Dow Jones, S&P.’ Again see ‘the cardinal rule.’  (Note: actually a 12 month even 6 months allowed lower deductibles for home and auto insurance coverage not to mention the savings from lowered premiums in disability coverage due to taking a longer wait period to coverage – which actually is a ‘rate of return.’)

Still even with the 18 months – most still got the yips & yipes! despite constant reminders of the 18 months will typically weather the storm. Jogging the memory relative to their adaptability and resourcefulness would often get the retort ‘this is different, I’m not young anymore, etc etc.’ Belief in the prospect of LACK rules with its LACKtose intolerance – and result: spontaneous recovery to the yips & yipes!.

          INside Out Tool #1 ENOUGH

          ENOUGH – is healing personal financial anxiety, puttin’ money in its place to align & connect again to one’s significance/assignment – what one is meant to do, meant to be- enough to live on, enough to live for – linking means with meaning.

          More is never enough. For more – enough is a little more. More is lack (fear) driven. And yet, ironically, too often, more, better, now becomes less worse later.

          More is relative– driven by external comparisons – i.e. the Dow Jones, the S&P 500 Index, etc etc – (outside in) rather than by one’s prioritized goals aligning means with meaning. More is about ‘which stock, which mutual fund, which etf etc – ENOUGH concerns itself managing the goals.

          INside Out (We’re A) Tool #2 Shaddai (as ‘enough’)

This land is Mine. You are but wayfarers on it.  Visitors to me.

Leviticus

Confidence = con(with) fidelis (faith)

Shaddai = God, God Almighty, God All Sufficient, Enough

          Despite all the aforementioned, is it not unusual to have the yips & yipes! – or at least intermittent visitation by the yips. Given man’s fear of extinction (he identifies as the physical body) he seeks permanence, continuity, and certainty through acquisition. (Note: acquisition in Hebrew is Cain as, yes, Cain and Abel). The derivative of acquisition is more (not enough) (more, more, more). Buttressed by the cultural reinforcement that more is better – the yips & yipes! have fertile ground from which to spring – regardless of enough, 18 months, adaptability and resourcefulness.

          Accepting Enough is hard enough, but acknowledging that we don’t own assets but rather lease them ‘as this land is mine’ and our role is caretaker to own UP to the assets (as a result of talents on loan from God) – is beyond difficult. After all, ‘I earned and therefore I can do what I want, when I want, with the assets’ within the law’

          This identification with the asset as ‘mine forever’ compounds the yips & dismayed yipes! during these spikes.

          Yes, we ‘earned it’ but it was God given capacities that we developed into capabilities that yielded the assets to be in our caretaking and to own UP to. i.e. Lou Ferrigno, the original Incredible Hulk, was given a large frame and body (capacity). But it was years of training, lifting etc that developed that body into the incredible Hulk. Now this writer at 140lb might have the desire to be The Incredible Hulk – but not the God given capacity to make the body into the capability of being the Incredible Hulk. (I’ll have to settle for The Merchant of Venom).

          Hashem creates – we fabricate, refine and curate.

          So where does our confidence (with faith) rest? Outside in the current currency that can be devalued (think Widmar Republic WWI and wheel barrows). Or is our confidence better placed in Hashem and our exhibited and developed adaptability and resourcefulness to lower the yips, yipes! and need for baby wipes?

          We don’t get rid of yips & yipes! but we can put them in context. And while that’s no Yippity Do Da, the yips and yipes! can be restrained to lower the frequency and temperature of the yipes and the need for baby wipes.

Yipes! Ki Yay, Bruce Willis