In the New Year, and sometimes in September at the start of a new school year, many of us think about setting goals. Resolutions.

When I take a look back, I see that some of my goals came to fruition. But many did not.  Why? I found this article, from the Wall Street Journal, very helpful in answering this question.  I have made a few notes, in italics, within the story. 

ON THE JOURNEY TO NEW HABITS, TAKE TINY STEPS

From The Wall Street Journal | January 5, 2020 | By Dr. BJ Fogg

New Year’s resolutions fail because people aim too high and get discouraged quickly. Instead, celebrate small accomplishments.

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For me, the “celebrating small accomplishments” part has been key.

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The new year is an ideal time to observe how people try to change their own behavior. Upsurges of enthusiasm in early January are generally followed by flagging commitment in February. Nearly everyone wants to make some kind of life change: eat better, lose weight, exercise more regularly, sleep and relax more. But the alarming levels of obesity, sleeplessness and stress seen in the world—and in my Stanford University behavior-research lab—show a painful gap between the changes people want and what they actually do.

For the most part, we tend to blame ourselves for not being willing to work hard enough to adopt new habits. But to be effective, change doesn’t have to be hard at all—and shouldn’t be. Tiny adjustments that come easily and make us happy are the ones that work best. It’s our approach to self-improvement that needs to change.

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The above statement is so true about everything, including financial planning.  Ian and I work on making it easy for clients to make decisions by presenting them with low-hanging fruit when available.  

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When you start small, you can quickly move on to experiencing the rewards that motivate you to do more. I advise people to start with changes no bigger than Sukumar’s two push-ups and progress by small steps from there. Take a busy mom named Amy, who needed to manage distractions and stay focused on essential tasks. The habit she initially designed with our help was just to write one must-do task on a Post-it Note and stick it on her car dashboard, prompted by each day’s kindergarten drop-off. She didn’t even have to do the task itself at first; the initial habit was all about setting priorities. But she quickly felt successful and could move on to doing the single task and then others, and ultimately used the same principles to build a successful business.

Making Small Adjustments to Your Finances Can Pay Off Big Time

Such experiences tell us a lot about changing behavior. First, don’t think you have to create motivation. Choose habits that you already are eager to adopt. Second, go tiny. Why? Small is successful and sustainable because it is simpler. Next, design a prompt. We respond almost automatically to hundreds of behavior prompts each day that we barely notice (for instance, when you feel a few drops of rain on your arm, you open your umbrella); no behavior happens without some kind of prompt. Maybe you’ve been wanting to use the meditation app that you downloaded last week, but without a prompt, you forget to try. The best way to prompt a new habit is to anchor it to an existing routine in your life, whether it’s flushing the toilet, turning on the coffee pot in the morning or buckling your seat belt.

As you try each new habit, celebrate immediately. Cause yourself to feel good in that exact moment, whether it’s an inward “Good job!” or an outward fist pump. You deliberately reinforce the habit by tapping into the reward circuitry of your brain, causing it to recognize and encode the sequence of behaviors you just performed. The more intense the positive emotion, the faster your new behavior will become automatic. Think about all those times that you could have changed but didn’t, and here you are—changing. Isn’t that worth celebrating?

It isn’t primarily repetition over a long period that creates habits; it’s the emotion that you attach to them from the start. Data from the most recent 5,200 people to complete a five-day course of our program showed that more than half were able to instill habits in five days or less.

When people work together as a family, business or community to celebrate and create change, the effects can be even more transformative. One of my favorite projects was at a research hospital where the challenge was to tackle the problem of nurse burnout, a large and growing issue in health care. As we taught the course for four weeks via live online video, I was able to see each nurse on my screen. Some were in their pajamas at home, flopped on the couch, eating takeout food, wiped out. Others sat at desks staring into their computer cameras with faces full of fatigue.

I heard firsthand just how difficult it was for them to do basic things like drink enough water, eat regularly, and even get a full night’s sleep. So we worked together on creating healthy habits like “After I open my computer, I will take a sip of water,” or “After I answer the call light, I will take a deep breath.”

These super-small habits started to make a big difference. The nurses began changing together. They also started celebrating each other—a quick clap for a fellow nurse who took a drink of water, a “good for you!” after someone took a deep relaxing breath. Data showed statistically meaningful improvements related to their daily stress levels. In a follow-up survey three months later, the improvements were still in place, and more than three-quarters of the nurses reported that they had created other positive changes using the same methods.

It’s easy to underestimate the power of tiny change. But some of the most profound transformations start from small adjustments—from suffering to less suffering, from fear to hope, from feeling overwhelmed to being empowered. So set aside the conventional wisdom about self-improvement: There’s no need to work toward big, ambitious goals. By going tiny, you can discover for yourself the changes that will change everything.

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I hope you liked this article.  I have a final note that actually contradicts the argument made here:  I actually like setting one audacious goal each year.  I find it motivational and exciting.  It makes me feel alive.

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Dr. Fogg is the founder and director of the Behavior Design Lab at Stanford University. This essay is adapted from his book “Tiny Habits: The Small Changes that Change Everything,” just published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 

John Ardill

Founder and Mentor

Ardill Group

Direct: 1 416 400 5882
Office: 1 905 907 7000

john@ardillgroup.com

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Congratulations to Lynx Equity Limited, for climbing into the Financial Post’s Top 500 Most Profitable Companies in Canada!

Not to say we are surprised, because we are thrilled with how well Lynx performed during a tumultuous 2020, delivering great value to our clients.

How?  As Lynx CEO Brad Nathan puts it, “There are four things that I bring to the business above all:  I worry all the time, I am on top of every detail like someone with OCD, I am tenacious and I want people to like me.  And how do I make sure they do?  I do everything in my power to protect their money.”

Consider it mission accomplished.  With $500-million in 2020 revenue, Lynx’s business model is to buy very well-run companies that create an income stream for investors every month.  Presently the 100% owner of 50 companies in North America and Europe, Lynx focuses on the mid-market space:  on buying companies worth approximately $6-15-million.  

And here is the piece that truly sets Lynx apart:  those 50 (and growing) companies provide investors with a diversified risk – but an undiversified return.  A return derived from the eyes of Brad and team for identifying the very top-performing business owners.  The owners who want to sell, yes, but stay on to continue running the business for up to several years.  The owners who are peak performers when it comes to the metric that Lynx considers to be most important of all:  ethics.

Says Brad:  “The key is to find the business owner who is truly decent.  The person who has been running the business for decades and wants the business, its employees and customers to continue to do well.  We avoid so much pain that way.

“The first deal I did was with a guy who didn’t have any friends.  After he told me his fourth story about being screwed by others, I realized it was the other way around.  And that I was next.  It taught me that I had to learn to be a very good judge of character, to better determine who is a good business owner and who is not.  If there is a jerk at the top, the company usually has a bad culture filled with bad people. After all, who works for a jerk?

“Ultimately, our ability to reward our investors comes down to the owner – that special person who cares more about the business than the dollars in his or her pocket.”

Want to learn more about Lynx Equity Limited?  Check out their website at www.lynxequity.com or give us a call.

The post Ecosystem update: Lynx Equity Limited first appeared on Ardill Group.

Here we are in a brand-new year – although in many respects, it doesn’t feel that different from 2020.

Uncertainty seems to be the dominant theme, yes.  In the markets and the overall economy, some experts are taking a very negative view, and others are saying that when the pandemic is over, we are going to see an economic boom like nothing since the end of World War II.

Both of these positions are supported by some valid arguments.  That is why a balanced approach to your investing is an especially prudent thing to do in 2021.

You could hide in your proverbial bomb shelter, but if you want to get some advice on how to be more balanced, give me a ring.

Because, amid all the uncertainty, here’s one thing that’s for sure:  whatever you and your family are facing, whatever your business is facing, we are here to support you every step of the way.

Many people are feeling a bit stuck.  They’re not sure what to do.  They’re not sure where to turn.  I think we really have three options:

1.Stay stuck.

2.Make some haphazard moves and hope for the best.

3.Move forward with a methodical approach and make ourselves prepared for whatever may come.

I say that our choice has to be #3.  So if you’re feeling stuck about something – no matter what it is – please reach out anytime.

Many of you will know that in my former career, I was a pastor.  I won’t bring religion into our discussion (unless you would like me to); I am just mentioning this because I have a good ear. I have a lot of experience listening to people, and I can listen – and hear – you.

Ian Ardill, B.A., M.T.S.

Private Wealth Advisor
CEO, Ardill Group

Direct: 1 905 717 5698

Office: 1 905 907 7000

ian@ardillgroup.com

The post I think we have three choices. first appeared on Ardill Group.

At their core, RRSPs are a tax-deferral strategy that helps you generate income in retirement.  Some folks contribute to them with great zeal.  Others have an allergic reaction to them.  So, are RRSPs all they’re chalked up to be?  

Here’s the perhaps unsatisfying answer:  it depends.

It depends on your circumstances:  on what your taxable income is today, on what other sources of income you expect to have in retirement, on what amount of time you have between now and your intended retirement date.  Plus, should it be spousal or in your name?  Should you be leveraging TFSAs instead of RRSPs?  

Whatever tools you decide to use, the ultimate questions are these:  when you retire, how do you keep yourself in a lower tax bracket?  How do put yourself in a position to spend more money with less tax?

If you would like some advice, now is the time to book a conversation with us.  As always, we are here to help.

The post Want to spend more money and pay less tax? first appeared on Ardill Group.

Joey has a personal mission statement:  To cultivate better relationships with everyone I meet and bring some good to their day.

It’s a guiding principle – speaking of missions – that has led him to do multiple mission trips in Mexico and Romania (where he worked at and helped build orphanages), as well as Austria.

As he puts it, “In everything I do in life, including my professional workday, my relationship with the person I’m with is the most important thing.”  So he’s just the right match for Ardill Group, where he especially and understandably identifies with this value from our brand foundation:  We believe that earning – and keeping – clients’ trust is the ultimate accomplishment.

“Working with clients’ finances is sensitive work.  I have witnessed the trust our clients have in us, and it just makes me so proud to be part of this team.”

At Ardill Group, Joey’s overall responsibility is to support an important element of our character:  our fanatical commitment to consistent customer service.  Working alongside Darlene Abballe, his responsibilities range from updating client files to updating the website – an activity for which his parents can attest he has aptitude, considering he surprised them at age three by taking apart the family computer.

Joey hails from Dallas, Texas, loves to ski the Austrian Alps, is conversational in Italian, French and German, and loves football in both languages:  American and soccer.

The post Introducing Joey Billingsley first appeared on Ardill Group.