In the Columbus Dispatch today I really enjoyed the piece by Joe Blundo with his “Things I’m Tired Of,” series. It got me thinking about things I’m tired of. I only have a few but wanted to get them down.
“Woo-hoo.” I’m tired of my financial institutions notifying me I’ve gotten paid with a ‘woo-hoo,’ notification. When I hear this I’m immediately reminded of some of the criticisms my French and German classmates would have about Americans. The main one was that we’re not very genuine. This doesn’t make sense to us Americans because we know we can be very genuine so I had to have an explanation. Notice you’ll never see French or Germans suddenly burst into large smiles with over the top enthusiasm upon meeting strangers like our salespeople do? I imagine they have this impression because most are tourists going to shops and hotels where customer service is expected and in the American style that involves a bit of acting, especially in the big cities. I believe people in the country side can be a bit more genuine and warm (or cold) depending on their mood.
Anyway, ‘woo-hoo’ is something someone expresses when excited and happy. Why would the financial institution be excited for my payday, on secondly it is a computer. This is certainly not genuine. Both Chase Bank and Mint use ‘woo-hoo’ when getting paid but I can assure you their employees are not very excited about me getting paid.
Furthermore, it can have the opposite affect on my temperament because this is the time of year I have a lot of large bills and so need to transfer money from my reserve funds to my active accounts. This is because I don’t have enough money in my main account to cover the bill and have to go to cash bucket number one. So I’m actually going into debt (with myself) yet still receive a ‘woo-hoo!’
Chase and Mint, stop with the ‘woo-hoos,’ you are financial institutions, you are not my friend and your primary purpose is to separate me from my money, or at the very least make money off of my deposits. Our goals are not aligned so please cease with the ‘woo-hoos.”
The second thing that has annoyed me recently is the phrase “get out of your comfort zone,” becoming the standard phrase for people/institutions wanting you to do something that you really don’t want to do. By using that phrase they want you to believe that in doing it you will grow or become stronger by doing something that isn’t the norm. Well you know what? My job is in sales so I’m constantly outside my comfort zone. Hitting goal only brings relief for a brief moment because then you have to look towards clearing the next hurdle, then the one after that and so on.
I am constantly trying to find an oasis of comfort through exercise, meditation and creating a nice ambiance in order to find peace. Life in America is a constant ‘challenge’ with a barrage of sales pitches coming at you daily trying to separate you from your money. There is always some financial pitfall right around the corner to avoid. At 42 years old with a family I have lot of responsibility. It has been a long time since the days of being a carefree kid on the swings without a worry in the world. At 42 there are bills to pay, upcoming bills to pay and assets such as cars, a house, school and so on which also require money. There are sales I must make and all of this is continuing without end. I don’t need any help getting “out of my comfort zone” because I haven’t been in a comfort zone in a very long time.
Well, those are the two things I wanted to write about tonight. I have to get up for work tomorrow and there are appointments to be made, QBRs to arrange and money needs to be brought in. I would prefer some help in getting into a comfort zone instead of an invitation to remain on edge.
