Put Yourself First

Call it what you like - - it may have many names and it comes in numerous languages. To some it is independence. In an era of constant change and dramatic uncertainty - - call it the desire to live a life with some level of control, stability, and direction. Independence, maybe in spirit only - - but with an enlightened understanding of the concepts associated with self-determination and self-reliance. Some will call it security - - safety from the rolling shock waves hitting our economy and our institutions. Security, not in the form of a guarantee - - there are none. Security in the context of confidence - - confidence in your ability to understand the realities and messages of the new world order and environment. Confidence in your ability to plan, react, and act accordingly. Others may even go as far as calling it freedom - - freedom of mind and spirit to understand that the world has changed and it will continue to change and it will never be the same - - where it is important for individuals to develop customized “adapting strategies” that focus on coping with a new series of realities. Freedom to understand that change is breaking, disrupting, and transforming many of the institutional bonds and linkages that have existed in this country for centuries.

Scott Burns, a syndicated business columnist for the Dallas Morning News, had an excellent commentary on our world of change and uncertainty last Sunday. The article was entitled “Ozzie, Harriet are gone; it’s time to change.” Burns writes the following in the article:

It was a sweet place.

Many dates are offered as markers for the end of the world. But most of them began nearly 40 years ago. That’s an entire generation.

What were the marker events? Take your pick: the accelerating decline of union membership in the 1970s, the first OPEC embargo, the 1977 decision to allow savings and loans to compete for deposits, the creation of 401(k) plans, the decline of pensions, the rise of forced early retirements, the erosion of health benefits or the increasingly ragged uncertainly of employment. Whatever the transition events, we’re living in a new world.

We’ve been getting this message for decades. But neither we nor our institutions have asked how we should change our behavior to adapt to this new world.

Burns has a short and powerful message - - “Put Yourself First.” It’s about personal security - - if we’re going to live in an uncertain and insecure world - - the only sane thing to do is change our behavior. The governing axiom for this "Change in Behavior Age" is doing the things that you have to do to be independent and secure in a society that has, so far, refused to adapt. Adapting strategies need to focus on three critical elements - - finance, education, and health. It may boil down to three basic principles - - (1) Save more and borrow less, (2) Learning is a life-long endeavor and journey, and (3) Eat less and exercise more. Don’t go into debt, don’t get left behind in a world requiring increasing intellectual skills, and finally, don’t have unnecessary medical problems in an environment of expensive and collapsing medical care.

In short - - “Put Yourself First” - - our institutions don’t want you to change nor will they tell you to change. It all starts with you and the ideas of independence, freedom, and security.