Would you let anyone else treat you the way that voice in your head does?

Do you find yourself getting mad, frustrated, or upset by the way a friend or family member is acting – financially or otherwise?

And how, you might ask, are these questions related?

When we replay past financial decisions on loop in our heads, we can get angry at our ourselves for the ones that didn’t go well. And when we see financial decisions our friends and family make that we disagree with, we can get angry at them.

While an angry response might be the norm, is that a healthy way to live our lives?

Now, you could take the Frank Costanza approach of yelling “Serenity Now!” whenever you get angry. But let’s discuss a more useful (and socially acceptable!) alternative.

Empathy is better than anger.

Rather than beating yourself up for past financial mistakes that you can’t change, try cutting yourself some slack instead and vow to do better going forward.

Rather than getting angry at the way someone else is acting, recognize their actions are likely in response to something they are struggling with, and that “something” has nothing to do with you.

Choosing empathy over anger – for yourself and others – will help bring more serenity to your life and your finances.

We all face obstacles and sometimes we’re going to stumble. That’s part of being an imperfect human. Try as we might, we can’t always get it “right.” But we can be more empathetic, more forgiving, of ourselves and others.

So next time you catch yourself getting angry with yourself or someone else, take a deep breath first. Then cut yourself / them some slack. Life’s too short to be mad all the time, especially when you can have serenity instead.

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