P is for Panzer and P is for Paranoid
Posted: 18 Jan 2009 11:34 PM CST
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless MindSometimes I think that I’m borderline paranoid about financial security. This is because, relative to other people, I am in a financially sound place in life right now. Besides an outstanding car loan that will be paid up in 1 year’s time, I am debt-free even for my home which is fully paid up. 
On top of that, I have an emergency fund of 5 months’ expenditure in cash and cash equivalents as well as an equity portfolio that is under water but still worth something. I am insured for both hospitalisation as well as life and am still working in a fairly stable industry.
But still I can get paranoid because I don’t take ANYTHING FOR GRANTED.
Give Thanks
First of all, I thank God and my parents for what I have. I feel blessed by my daughter and spouse who form my family. I have great parents who took good care of me and my mother still helps out with my daughter regularly in the evenings.
I am grateful to have survived 2.5 years of full-time national service in combat units as well as 10 years of annual in-camp training, IPPT, mobilisation manning and what-nots. I’ve survived the first 10 months of fatherhood and have grown this blog’s Alexa ranking to 755,000 or so.
Why is Panzer Paranoid?
The paranoia stems from me knowing that all this can be illusionary. I thank God for all that I have and continue not to take the current status quo for granted because of the very fact that the world is a different from when I first stepped into the work-force.
The speed of change in life is so tremendous that I believe I can only keep up with it by being paranoid and by being prepared.
The paranoia refers to knowing that I have to keep improving myself in all aspects of my life even while I appreciate what I already have. It is knowing that you are doing okay but you still need to paddle hard to keep yourself afloat in the tsunami waves of change that threaten to swamp this boat of life.
Some incidents have left a permanent mark in me. Seeing people I know personally get retrenched without any benefits because company’s profits were declining. Seeing how Singapore is swamped with imports of foreign nationals coming to compete for jobs all all levels. Seeing how my own National Service experiences has both helped and hindered me in my own quest to seek financial freedom.
Be Prepared, You’ll Survive the Worst
The scout’s motto is to “Be Prepared”. The Civil Defence Force once ran a series of advertisements for Singapore residents to be prepared and we’ll survive the worst. I think it makes sense to “be prepared” in our own financial and personal lives because of the random world we live in.
To me, being prepared means to not take things for granted. Hence, I continue to focus on living within my means to keep lifestyle inflation in check. I aim to save and invest with the savings generated and look for adequate insurance to mitigate the risks that I can do something about. Growing my means is one way to channel my spare time towards becoming financially free, so that in future, I’ll have even more spare time to pursue my interests.
Being prepared also means to be present to life even as it happens. Instead of waiting for something to happen to be happy, I focus on being happy even as I wake up at 4.00 am to pat my daughter back to sleep on occasion nights. I focus on being happy even when I have to drive to KKH at 3.30am to bring my daughter to see the doctor for fever. I focus on being happy even when things don’t always go my way in life.
Act or be Acted Upon
In life, we may not be able to control 100% of everything that happens to us. But we can act to do what we can on those things that are controllable.
I act on learning and growing in my knowledge and skills in financial freedom through this blog and through managing my own finances towards my target to be financially free. I push myself to read at least 1 book a month if not 2 to always be in touch with new thoughts, ideas and ways of engaging the world.
I act by practising more self-control and restraint in my reactions towards unpleasant occurrences in life.
I act by being engaged more in the world, to seek to be more proactive and not to be passive and wait for things to happen.
Z = Zen
The more I recognise my paranoia and examine what drives me towards my behaviour, the more I realise I should act to the best of my ability within my realm of control and influence and leave the rest to God. Then, I become more zen-like and focus on the present knowing that my future is in His hands.
What letters of the alphabet represent you? A for active or P for passive? H for hopeful or H for hopeless?
Share with Panzer your thoughts.
Be well and prosper.
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