This week on the calendar, I think, also signals for many of us a change of perspective! Regardless of our attachment to the school calendar, we feel a shift because so much of society is governed by that reality. It’s a shift from “living in the now” to “living for the future.”
Isn’t summer’s more about enjoying the moment? How many of us said this past weekend: “It’s the last day of summer; I’m just going to enjoy it!”? We may even have used it as an excuse to avoid thinking about the challenges ahead. But that’s OK.
That’s not to say, we haven’t been preparing: witness the chaos at stores like Staples the two weeks prior to Labour Day. Witness the planning sessions of organizations preparing their Fall programs. But those are anomalous events scheduled into the summer mindset, or taken from it.
Post Labour Day our steps are more ordered as we walk the path we have designed to take us to where we want to go. The “now moments” become a temporary escape from the main path.
In Fall we wander less, and aim more purposefully toward our goals.
Do you hate this transition, or love it?
In my university days, I used to love it. That’s because I loved both school and my summer work (I was a self-employed framing contractor). But both would become tiresome eventually. By the end of eight months of school I was so ready to get to my summer work. And by the end of four months of summer work, I was so ready to go back to school. That cycle was a perfect fit for me.
The farther away I get from attachment to that cycle, though—and it’s been a long time now—the more I seem to dislike the Fall transition, despite its new opportunities. It means I have to become more disciplined to meet the challenges that stand in the way of my goals. And discipline is not as much fun as living for the “now,” is it?
Thankfully, I’m not prone to depression but, for me, that first week after Labour Day can feel as dreary as the (current) weather outside my door. Just getting through the week might be an accomplishment.
For you, it might be different. The opportunities and new challenges might be invigorating!
For both of us, let’s take on the new season with gusto, and celebrate every accomplishment along the way, big or small! Let those celebrations be our “Now” moments!
At least that’s how I see it . . .
Rent 2 Own tip:
A rent to own program requires a high commitment level to ensure success. This may include foregoing other opportunities along the way. You may need to make that vehicle last longer than you’d hoped, rather than taking on additional debt during the term of the rent to own. The same goes for household furniture; the temptation to furnish the new digs you move into is compelling. But that may kill your ability to reduce debt, and impair your ability to increase your credit score. Only those with the discipline to forestall such purchases will likely succeed in a rent 2 own program.
At Fraser Valley Rent 2 Own, we look closely at the income and credit numbers but also try to ascertain your motivation to commit to that level of discipline in qualifying you for a rent to own program.
