The coaching continues…
I’m sometimes a little too honest on facebook. Mind you, I’m not the type to post TMI about deeply personal issues and I don’t blast friends who post political opinions on their status updates.
But I do procrastinate. And last week I got “caught” on facebook.
My post was innocent enough.
Need a way to learn to enjoy my bookkeeping duties. I would rather be doing ANYTHING other than sitting here with a spreadsheet! : (
Ten friends commented.
One suggested rewarding myself with a margarita after I finished the work. Another offered to trade desk work for yoga classes.
Two friends said they love bookkeeping (not fair!).
But leave it to my mother’s comment to spur me to action. When she suggested hiring my dad as bookkeeper and them moving into my guest room, I knew I had to do something fast!
I went for my coaching session with Bill Burtch. I didn’t even have to bring up the bookkeeping brouhaha. He did.
“I saw your post on facebook about the bookkeeping,” he said.
“Can we talk about something uplifting?” I asked.
We had a productive time together, mostly talking about the things I like: my most valuable relationships, core values, how money enables my life. We worked on my core purpose and my vision.
Then that budget thing came up again. I brought it up this time.
After several coaching sessions I have learned a lot about myself. I learned that I’m motivated by social experiences and altruism. I like to be with people and I like to feel like I’m doing good in the world.
I’m a creative type. Boxes, charts, and spreadsheets make my eyes cross.
It’s amazing how fiscally responsible I have been my whole adult life – considering this aversion to logs, charts and graphs.
It’s not that I mind paying for things; I’m just not a line item kind of girl. Why sit around logging things into Quicken when I have people to meet, yoga classes to teach, and the beautiful old growth forest just footsteps from my door?
Bill challenged me to reframe my paradigm about managing finances. So I’m wondering. What if I call my line items something compelling? Something, well, more fun. More meaningful. Maybe something that doesn’t sound so accountant-like.
Mortgage, rent, homeowners insurance sound so droll. What do these line items really mean to me?
They mean home.
What are some other names for home?
Sanctuary, Midtown Bungalow, Court Avenue Cocoon, Chez Nichols
Then someone suggested making each line item sound completely lovely.
So, I’ve set up a new category in my Quicken expense item list.
I just can’t wait for the accountant’s call when she reads my next expense report and discovers I’m paying $900 a month for something called “Love Shack.”
Looking forward to seeing Bill again next week to continue my coaching odyssey. Who knows what we’ll come up with as we forge ahead? What do you struggle with that might be reframed into something more enjoyable?