The hardest resolution is maybe not to have any resolution at all

 

I was reviewing how I was feeling last year at around the same time and found that I was pretty pessimistic about 2023, and I was essentially correct about how the year unfolded. Things will look terrible until we get a clear signal that interest rates will stop rising. After that, things will look much better. I will leave the details to a Dr Wealth article which I completed that summarises the performance of both my ERM and AWP portfolios.

2024 will be a lot sunnier than 2023 for investors. But for me, getting thyroid eye disease would mean changing my priorities for 2024 - basically, no new initiatives unless my eyes get better. 

So, instead of listing my resolutions, I will list the stuff I would have loved to do next year, but I should hold back until I feel better.

These are my anti-resolutions:

a) Writing a new book on personal finance.

This December, I tried to have a month to complete the fantasy and non-business books I have on my KIV list. I was pleasantly surprised by Haruki Murakami's Novelist as a Vocation. I found the book as gripping as any of his written works as he described his creative process and view on creating works of fiction. One point that has left a deep impression on me is that a great novelist is the kind of person who can look at a situation and store it in his mental cabinet without casting judgment on it. Folks who are compelled to judge are better off being critics or journalists. 

I spent most of the week hanging out with friends and going through social interactions without many filters. I have already warned a pal about a business that could be a front for money laundering operations. Explained to an ex-colleague why an investment scheme may be illegal or a con job. And in a New Year party, why may a young person be a product of assortative mating, is about to engage in it very soon, and thus, part of the problem of income inequality.

Of course, I'm not in the business of writing novels, but it is high time I author a new book that summarises all the new insights I gained since becoming an investment trainer. I hold myself back because the idea of finding a good publisher is quite tempting, given that the proliferation of AI books on the Kindle platform makes self-publishing unsexier by the day.

b) Starting a new channel for lifelong learning

2023 has been a disappointing year for me as my eldest has gone through her PSLE. Without going into much detail, it was more my fault than my kids', as we did not play the game like other parents did. I also need help to convince my daughter to learn the technique of studying rather than actually the subjects in a secondary school as Sec 1 is not much of a consequential year. 

As there are many experts in the learning field, like Barbara Oakley, Scott Young and Cal Newport, I could start a video channel on some tips and techniques to learn better. But this would require my YouTube channel to be repurposed for this.  

If I attempt this, it would require a lot of personal rebranding, but it can lead to more students for my investment courses.

c) Get Overemployed like a Gen Z worker

One of the more remarkable things I see younger workers do is over-employment. They got hired by two employers and delivered enough to keep both happy and draw double the salary. I already have a reasonably efficient setup that allows me access to teaching as part of a private business and a public institution. It is very tempting to find another institution to work for to teach subjects that, well, I need to be qualified to teach.

I've already imagined what a cybersecurity programme would look like for legal executives this year, so I should ask for more work. Another more severe project is resurrecting my cryptocurrency course and running it entirely from Python scripts like AWP. This would mean that I will take three Dr Wealth courses simultaneously. 

As we head into 2024, most folks will try to improve themselves by tackling big goals. I'm one of the few with fairly detailed objectives I need to restrain myself from doing. 

We will see whether, as we enter 2025, I will fail in my resolve and attempt any of these objectives.