Obligation or Opportunity
In this blog I am going to explore the idea of the difference between the I get to verses I have to mentality when it comes to investing. We will look of who the “rich” are in the world. How our rules following approach to life has us in the in the I have to mode rather than the I get to mode. Finally, we will look at ways we can shift our mindset to the I get to mindset.
While I like to think that I can come up with great content for my blog, often I am inspired by the events that happen in my day to day life. I must give the credit for this blog post to the recent sermon that I heard at my home church. Pastor Ross Sawyers was preaching on the topic of joyful resolve. Below is the link if you would like to hear the entire message.
https://www.121cc.com/media-and-resources/messages/a-joyful-resolve
I found it to be an interesting correlation for the struggle that I see with may investors and advisors when we talk about Biblically Responsible investing (BRI). Often there we are stuck in in the mental traps based on what we know about the investing world. I hear all the rationales of why it will be hard to invest in a way that honors God and is in alignment with biblical values. Things like will there be enough companies to invest in if we remove the bad or immoral companies form our portfolios. Does it really make a difference if I own stock of a company that has millions of publicly traded shares? I can’t be bothered with or it takes too much time to try to invest this way. Or the idea that it wouldn’t it be more effective to not buy products from companies that I don’t agree with.
These objections are all born out of the I have to mindset. I have to save for retirement. I have to invest because I want to retire at some point in my life. It has become a means to an end for most people. Which means most do not want to be bogged down with the details. They want the cheapest, easiest path to accomplish the task at hand. Investing is a chore that I have to do.
This is in direct opposition to the I get to mind set. If you were to go to www.globalrichlist.com and enter in your annual salary I would guess that you would land in the top 1% of income earners in the world. In US dollars if you make $35,000 a year you are in the top 1% in the world. Let that sink in for a minute. While that by no means makes you rich by US standards just the ability to be able to have enough extra income to be able to invest should be viewed as a blessing.
Rather than being stuck in the mire of rules and hypotheticals scenarios that can be thought up as to why not to invest in a BRI portfolio how about taking the I get to stance. A mindset that I have been given this great opportunity for the money that I have to have a positive impact on the world. That I have an opportunity to own companies that share my values and I am excited about sharing in the success of the company through stock ownership. This joyful mindset that I have an opportunity rather than an obligation mindset.
This gets me excited as I hope you can tell through the tone of this blog. I am by nature, what I would call a pragmatic person. I struggle to see the glass half full at times. To step back and say what a huge blessing it is to even have the resources to think about investing and retirement. We should be saying thank you and looking for ways to honor Him in all areas of our life, including our investments.
Do you have a I have to, or I get to outlook on life? Now the is time to know what you own and have those dollars invested for impact. I will leave you with my closing question.
What’s in your portfolio?
*The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual.
*There is no assurance that the techniques and strategies discussed are suitable for all investors or will yield positive outcomes. All investing involves risk including loss of principal. No strategy assures success or protects against loss.