What is reconciliation? Reconciliation can be the restoration of friendly relations or the action of making one view or belief compatible with another. In Christian theology and the Bible, reconciliation is an element of salvation that refers to the results of atonement. All of these definitions start with a difficult or challenging situation, prompt you to action to resolve, and if done well (and wholeheartedly) will lead to a positive outcome for all.
How can reconciliation benefit your family, fitness and finances? Here are some personal examples.
FAMILY. My parents divorced when I was twelve. Growing up as a teenager, I was frustrated with my parents for the divorce. It took years to reconcile our differences and for me to finally accept their decision. Once we reconciled our differences on opinions of the situation, our relationship improved and actually grew stronger.
FITNESS. During 2020, my wife was pregnant with our second child and we made a family decision I would stop exercising at the gym due to COVID-19. As a result, I started running and training for virtual half marathons. Since summer of 2020 to now summer of 2021, I have logged over 1,000 running miles and ran three virtual half marathons. In order to get to this point in my fitness, I had to reconcile my family’s priorities over my personal fitness goals and find a solution that would benefit everyone.
FINANCE: Finance is always personal. I do always hear one common goal: MAKE MORE MONEY. Our family continues to grow and we live from a modest household income. I have tried to setup a wise investment strategy that includes our company Roth 401K, Roth IRA, stock investments and real estate investments. We typically reconcile our income, spending and investment target amounts once a quarter to make sure we stay on track with our goals.
3 Reconciliation Challenges to Change Your Life:
- FAMILY CHALLENGE: Do you have a disagreement or a frustration with a family member or close friend? Reach out to them, listen to them and see if you can reconcile your differences. You may have to swallow your pride, eat some humble pie and push yourself out of your comfort zone. If this process works, you have saved and strengthened this relationship for the future.
- FITNESS CHALLENGE: Have you reviewed your fitness progress lately? I challenge you to look at your current fitness routine and make a big change in your routine. The change needs to big enough it scares you and will shock your body. When you reconcile your results now against your future results, I guarantee there will be a positive difference.
- FINANCE CHALLENGE: If you have hit a sustainable income target, I encourage you to reconcile your monthly cash flow versus your living expenses. You need to create margin between your income and expenses, so you can invest in yourself and your family. I recommend to always invest in yourself through reading, education or training. Once you have set this process up, invest in your company 401K option and then start investing in income producing assets. There are several income producing asset options out there, but my favorite has been private REITs.
What are some next steps on reconciling one area of your life today?
James G Morrison 