How to insulate yourself from lifes troubles

Photo by Katinka van den Brink
Does the word life conjure up images of pain or pleasure, happiness or sadness, or a combination of both? Life is not a linear path as many of us mistakenly believe. Life is a combination of both peaks and valleys,highs and troughs. Our path through life's obstacles is never smooth. Instead, we get bursts of efficiency followed by periods of resistance. The dynamics of life are an ever changing kaleidoscope of emotions, situations, and difficult problems. In spite of life's uncertainties, there are techniques that can be used to level the playing field in your favor that require very little effort on your part, and be quite fun, rewarding, and challenging.


Tip 1 - Turn off the news. If you follow my other posts, by now you'd know I am not a fan of the media. Their entire existence is based on their ability to scare you into thinking the world is going to end, which drives you to overcompensate for your fears by spending more money to make yourself feel better. A bitter pill to swallow that can leave you with crushing debt, late payments, and a possible date with the civil, or bankruptcy court system. These days I rarely watch maybe 5 hours of television per week and when I do none of it is the local, national or international news, and guess what? I no longer worry about things that I have no control over. I sleep better at night, and interrelate with my family, friends, and colleagues much easier. Ditching the news is like curing yourself of mild attention deficit disorder. The less background noise you hear, the better you will focus on whats important in life. This leads to an overall increase in efficiency, and provides you with the clarity that you need to get the important things taken care of. Take a walk in the moonlight, and stir your creative and problem solving juices.


Tip 2 - Mind your own business - Stay away from gossip. Chances are the same people that gossip with you, are the very same people that gossip about you. Stay out of other peoples affairs, and guard your most precious secrets from people as if your life depended on it. Even a fool who remains silent is thought to be a genius.


Tip 3 - Stay out of the courtroom - This means paying all of your bills. Once you get sucked into the black hole of the legal system you can lose everything you've worked for, and them some. The majority of lawyers really will take the shirt off of your back when given the right opportunity. If one lawyer moves into town he or she does fairly well, but if two move into the same town they get rich.


Tip 4 - Always have a contingency plan - Whether your shopping or transacting business, always have a plan B, and even C. The yellow pages weigh roughly 7-10 lbs. depending on the size of the city that you are living in. Always get 5 estimates for the same service or product, and not the traditional 3. The reason being is that the traditional 3 sufficed 30 years ago when there weren’t as many people, hence businesses in the world. With globalization in full tilt, you now have options to buy products, and services much cheaper overseas, and this includes your medical care as well. Peruse the Internet every chance you get, and take notes on prices and reviews, and let the businesses fight it out for your dollar. I have saved literally thousands of dollars due to the World Wide Web, and you can as well.


Tip 5 - If you drink and turn into an idiot, do so at home away from family, friends, and strangers, enough said. If you drink and drive, you get a night in the grey bar motel free of charge. The average cost of a single DUI today is between $5000 to $10,000 depending on your circumstance. If you kill someone it will cost you two lives, yours, and your victims.


Tip 6 - Avoid police, lawyers, and courtrooms - I once had an attorney say to me that if everyone were to stop breaking the laws today our governments would scramble to make an entire new subset of more draconian laws. It can get oppressively expensive to appear in front of a judge.


Tip 7 - Avoid toxic people - Let's face it, some people in this world are always out to make a fast dollar at someone else's expense, and this means suing you on the drop of a dime. Stay out of their path, and you'll be that much happier and wealthier for it. Avoid these people like the you would avoid the plague. They are normall easy to spot as they are usually loud, obnoxious, and rude; but not always. Beware of the wolf in sheep’s clothing and your life and wallet will be all the more better for it.


Tip 8 - Don't wear your heart on your sleeve at work, or in public. I like to remain a mystery to my co-workers. Many of them have no idea that I run a blog, and even less know anything about my personal life. The less someone knows about you, the better off you'll be. I am not talking family and friends here; I am talking co-workers and strangers on the street. Don't give anyone your ammunition if you don't know who they are. Always keep your powder dry.


Tip 9 - Stay out of debt - Always have enough cash available for emergencies, and depend on no one if you can help it. Being debt free means staying out of harms way. Being debt free means choosing your path to freedom, and avoiding being a slave to others. Being debt free means living life to its fullest.

Tip 10 - Always have a backup plan in case your primary plan fails - Always leave yourself an out by having other options available to you, just in case your plan of choice turns south. Whether it be major purchases, or investment opportunities such as purchasing real estate, do your homework and rechheck the answers before commiting to something. When I'm flight instructing, I always play a game of "what if" with my students. What if the engine failed... where would we land. That always forces a list of possible scenarios to takes place in their minds just in case the original landing spot turns out to be the incorrect one. The ultimate goal is a soft landing in a sea of landscape.

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