This weekend the nation took pause to celebrate Independence Day. It’s usually seen as a day to celebrate freedom, but it’s actually something close, but slightly different. Independence Day is a celebration of the detachment from feudal loyalty to an oppressor. It’s a recognition of the moment the nation pushed away from being controlled by outside interests and took on its independence. The nuance is small, but important.

If we think about what’s been happening over the past several months, there have been a lot of interests exerting pressure on all of us. Just a few of these are COVID-19, social pressures, financial pressures, the pressures of finding new ways to work or dealing with having no work, health pressures, electoral pressures, and the ongoing messages of social and mainstream media. You’re under pressure, and this is a time for independence.

You’ve heard us say it dozens of times (and we’re not going to stop) that your first act of independence is to have a plan that’s based on what’s important to you. So yes, have a plan. But we don’t want you to have a plan for the sake of having a plan. A plan helps you make good decisions today that will support your financial independence in the future; today’s plans create more certainty, independence and happiness, for tomorrow.

We were in a conversation recently about happiness and the comment that “money won’t buy you happiness” came up. And it’s true, sort of. Money does correlate to increased happiness up to around $70,000/year and then beyond that, it doesn’t line up. However, increased wealth and financial security does correlate to a sense of “secure-ness” and that’s something that many people want and need right now.

Taking steps toward your independence at every level, moves the locus of control from external sources to internal, and when you feel in control, you’ll probably notice that you’re a bit more likely to feel happy.

What can you do to exert some thoughtful independence right now? Interestingly the answer focuses on personal wellness.

• Get good sleep
• Catch up on missed doctor’s appointments
• Get to the dentist
• Exercise
• Maybe do a little less binge-watching and a bit more reading
• Spend time alone to think, journal and reflect

Your independence begins with being clear about the things that are most important to you, then building and acting on a plan to move toward them. Doing that can seem like a selfish act, but it’s not. It’s the root of the greatness of our country. Happy Independence Day.