Is lack of belief that it’s possible making your financial planning fail?

Hannah McQueen is a financial adviser, chartered accountant fellow, personal finance author, and the founder of enable.me – financial strategy and coaching, now part of AdviceFirst.

OPINION: As the holiday season of spending and sweet treats has taken off, I’ve found myself thinking about marshmallows – or, more specifically, the Stanford Marshmallow Experiment, a famous 1972 study on delayed gratification, that alleged success directly correlates with willpower and patience.

But we no longer live in the world of 1972 and, in a recent engagement with a group of individuals aged 25 to 35, I found myself confronted instead with the “instant-gratification generation” – and gained an insight into their barriers to financial progress.

They believed that their generation’s societal norms made achieving financial success seem like an unattainable dream. However, drawing upon my diverse client experiences, I challenged this perspective.

I firmly believe that the capacity to delay gratification exists within everyone; the key lies in having a compelling reason to do so. For these individuals, the disconnect between making sacrifices and seeing tangible progress towards their dream lives and homes led to a sense of futility in embracing delayed gratification.

If the efforts towards delaying gratification aren’t perceived to yield the desired outcome, then why bother with the sacrifice at all? I know I wouldn’t, and I certainly wouldn’t expect my clients to.

This sentiment echoes findings from the follow-up study to the famed marshmallow test.

Initially hailed as the magic key to life’s success, it was eventually recognised that without an environment structured for success, delayed gratification alone did not yield the anticipated results. Recognising this early might indeed be the superpower the next generation needs.

However, discerning that your current approach is failing or that your financial environment isn’t helping you get ahead is a powerful first step. But to then conclude, that you will not be able to get ahead, while common, is actually a dangerous conclusion to reach.

What I’ve found is that some of our best financial strategies come about because you are forced to be creative, due to different constraints. If you can match the financial creativity with discipline, then pathways open up to you that were not obvious beforehand.

A quote by bestselling author James Clear emphasises that the most effective plans should never rely on immense willpower: “People who appear to have tremendous self-control (…) aren’t all that different from those who are struggling. Instead, ‘disciplined’ people are better at structuring their lives in a way that does not require heroic willpower and self-control.”

In other words, achieving financial success shouldn’t require a heroic effort. Instead, it demands discernment in evaluating whether your financial aspirations are feasible or not. If the answer is “not”, you might consider partnering with a financial adviser who can assess your situation for its merits and get creative on all the unconventional pathways forward.

Never underestimate what you will be prepared to give up, even for a short while, if it can get you closer to what you want. And for some, the more ambitious the goal the more willing they will be to make compromise.

This is where introspection becomes crucial. Is your reluctance to push harder driven by a lack of faith in your ability to achieve your goals? Or is it due to a lack of experience in navigating uncharted financial terrain?

One of the most valuable aspects of financial coaching is understanding the intrinsic motivators that propel you towards (or away from) your financial goals. Your own money beliefs might be the key reason for your paralysis.

Success is created by discerning whether the current trajectory aligns with the desired destination. Rather than asking you to blindly embrace delayed gratification, a good plan will shift the focus to refining the approach, exploring alternative routes, and leveraging creativity to reimagine your pathway to financial success.

Delayed gratification isn’t solely about suppressing desires; it’s a strategic alignment of present choices with future aspirations. It’s the pursuit of a more comprehensive understanding of the correlation between sacrifices made today and the fulfilment of tomorrow’s dreams.

Generational thinking places limitations on what we believe is possible, but through recognising opportunity, embracing new perspectives, and seeking guidance to challenge our existing notions of what is possible – you can make your financial journey one that harmonises present joys with future successes.