Captaining the Ship

Thus far all my recent posts have been related to my health journey, and for good reason: I am much further along in my quest to improve my health than in my journey to financial freedom. I have tried so many different things to address my allergies and digestive issues, but I'm still growing my knowledge base of investing through reading books, listening to podcasts, and watching YouTube videos. But as I'm taking small half steps to improving these aspects of my life, one theme has become common in both.

I am the captain of my own ship.

From the beginning, my functional medicine doctor explained that I am captaining my ship through the seas and the ship as become lodged in shoals off the coast of Island A. I know where I want to go. I can see Island B off in the distance, but no matter how much I work to dislodge from the rocks, I am indubitably stuck. The goal of my doctor is is to give me the tools and resources to be able to push off and get my ship underway to Island B once again. He will give me what I need, but in the end, it's up to me to put those tools and resources into practice and run my own ship.

The same is true when it comes to finances. I recently finished reading Robert Kiyosaki's Rich Dad's Prophecy. He was advocating for individuals to take control of their financial future and build their own ark. In particular, he was speaking in the context of a possible stock market crash, resulting from a piece of legislation, ERISA, that passed in 1974. Whether or not that crash is pending, his advice still stands: if I want to eventually become financially independent, I need to build a watertight ship.

So where do I begin with my ship? Health-wise, I am improving my diet, sleep, and activity level. And, as mentioned above, I am also working with a functional medicine doctor. So far, I've learned some interesting things about my body (I'll elaborate in a future post) and I now have more guidance on what I can do. Financially, I'll continue to learn and research and start to explore investing options. As with all worthwhile ventures, taking small steps, one at a time, builds a strong foundation.

- Kristen

What small step can you take right now as the captain of your ship?