A500.5.1.RB_CavaliereMike


I think it’s safe to say that I’ve always been a fairly critical thinker. Never the type to take things at face value, the way my critical thinking has manifested itself over the years has evolved — loudly opinionated in high school, more self-reflective in college, etc. — but the instinct has always been there. Since I’ve gotten on the path toward my Master of Business Administration in Aviation (MBAA), though, I’ve noticed another shift, and it has gone hand-in-hand with my ambition.

Maybe it’s a natural part of the development process that people tend to think more about the future and what they hope to accomplish in their lives once they reach their thirties, but that has absolutely become a huge part of my focus the past year. I’ve noticed the change, but instead of it being purely theoretical, centered on grand ideas or introspection, it’s become more directly connected to action.

What do I want? Why do I want that? How do I get it?

That’s a pretty major shift for me. In the past, the ambition was there but, without direction, a specific outlet into which to invest energy, it played out like anxiety. The building blocks are the same today, mid-MBAA, but I realize I've put a greater emphasis on challenging myself, on the “whys,” and on intentionality. That small change has transformed what was a much more passive form of critical thinking into something closer to what it’s actually intended to accomplish, which is help the thinker come to clearer, more productive decisions, which lead to more positive and productive lives.

One specific example here is personal finance. Since committing to the MBAA, I also made a choice to commit to getting my financial house in the order — but before doing that, I had to think through what that meant. What does an “ordered” financial house look like to me? Why? How do I want to live when I’m 40, 50, 70? How much sacrifice am I willing to endure now to accomplish that vision? An article in The Mastermind Within really sums up these questions: “Before starting to think about the answers for these finance questions, it’s important to turn inwards and look to first figure out what is important to you and your life” (Think, 2018). The article reinforces the idea that “starting with why” is the key to making sound financial decisions — but that’s good advice for every part of life.

Entering into this program has spurred a change in the way I live my life that I didn’t entirely expect. Even more than the individual lessons learned in class, the act of committing to something difficult, in itself, has gotten me on a path to analyze the other parts of my life that I can control more than the parts that I can’t, which has been an exceedingly healthy shift.

The changes I’ve seen so far have been internalized, and I believe they’ll stick — because it’s not actually about the concepts. After I started applying the concepts to my life, they became personal, and soon, I saw progress. Once that happened, I was sold. It was about living intentionally, and that’s as much a philosophical, even spiritual, goal as an academic or financial one.  

References
Think critically. personal finance is personal. do what's right for you. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.themastermindwithin.com/fin-edu/think-critically-personal-finance-is-personal/

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