Turn the Tables on Chaos: Positive Steps to Living in an Upside-Down World

In Never Stop Learning this week I will be covering the following 1-2-3:

• One Big Thing - Turn the Tables on Chaos: Positive Steps to Living in an Upside-Down World

• Two Recommendations - resourcing to help you ask for a pay rise and deal with worry.

• Three Actions to take this week

All pictures created by Bing AI this week.

One Big Thing: Turn the Tables on Chaos: Positive Steps to Living in an Upside-Down World

Regardless of where you are in life, the assumptions that we could pretty much rely on from the past 30 years are starting to break down. We have a war in Europe, inflation is running into double digits, the US seems to be retreating into itself and the forces of globalisation that have driven much of the wealth increase of the past few decades is starting to unwind along with a retreat from engagement with China.

Even for those who don’t follow the geopolitics of all this (wise people in my view) there is a general unease that manifests itself in worry about whether AI will take your job, whether you should buy a house or whether you should allow your 12 year old daughter to have a mobile phone.

It can feel as though the world’s problems are stacking up. Especially when you consider that I haven’t even mentioned climate change yet.

Imagine being a 17/18 year old heading out into the big wide world right now. What would you do? How would you respond to what feels like insurmountable problems.

Well, let’s take a step back.

Below I have highlighted some of the big problems that could be exacerbated by some of the geopolitical issues and explain my approach to these. I think these suggestions will help you tweak your approach to bring a little more resilience and therefore comfort to your life.

Potential Problem: AI is going to take all our jobs!

It feels scary. Only in the last few days many AI experts have signed a letter advocating for more controls on AI. It has been talked about in the same way as the need to curb nuclear weapons. But, before it wipes out humanity it may start off by taking your job.

We are already starting to see some jobs going as more automation seeps into business. Over the centuries, we have seen many revolutions driven by technological advances which have subsequently led to job losses and the need for employees to retrain.

Blacksmiths now work in call centres….

The thing about AI is that it feels the change is quicker than past changes. For the lay person, AI feels as though its come out of no where. Of course it hasn’t but it was previously constrained to tech circles. This has burst onto the scene and is taking jobs within 6 months (or so it feels).

Suggested Approach: Adopt an inquisitive/growth mindset

So what can we do. Well, there’s quite a lot we can be doing.

The overarching thing you need to do is keep a growth mindset. It has always been the case for people reaching the middle parts of their careers to continue to learn. This ensures they stay relevant for the second half. Keep updating your skills and you can keep up.

With AI, this is now the case for everyone regardless of your career stage. You may have spent the last four years studying Computer Science at Uni and expecting to walk into a job in this tech driven world.

The thing is, we are probably going to need less coders that we thought we would just a couple of years ago. Even your skills might be redundant which is what many of the employees laid off by the big tech firms are finding.

So, you need to keep adapting and thinking ahead to stay competitive in the market place.

Don’t be scared of AI. My advice would be to lean into it and learn as much about it and how to apply it as you can. This will set you apart from those who bury their heads in the sand.

Be part of the solution.

Potential Problem: Inflation is eating your spending power

The price of everything seems to be sky rocketing. Bounce back from COVID, Central Banks taking their eyes of the ball and the war in Ukraine have pushed inflation to highs not seen for decades.

This erodes the power of your spending money and the value of your savings too.

Suggested Approach: It’s time to get lean with those budgets

The Bank of England recently said that people need to get used to being poorer. Not a particularly aspirational message to send to a population. They were talking here about not asking for a pay rise. Which is complete rubbish at an individual level.

Ask for a pay rise in the right way. Show the extra value you are bringing and go for it. There a loads of videos you can watch on YouTube. I have have placed one below in the recommendations section. The answer from your boss may be no but its worth a try. We are still in the strange position of having low unemployment across the Western world so you could still be in a good position.

The thing with inflation is that it has the effect of teasing out what society values. Good businesses with a strong competitive edge will be able to pay more to keep staff critical to that competitive edge. Bad business will not be able to pass on cost inflation to the customer and will either refuse pay rises or go bust. It’s brutal.

The other side of the coin is to comb through all your expenses and see where you can cut. Do you need the latest iPhone? Can you eat out a little less? Do you need all those subscriptions? I bet you could trim off a fair amount each month right now but looking through your regular outgoings.

Potential Problem: Interest rates are making mortgages unaffordable

Interests rates here in the UK are expected to peak just over 5% in the coming year. Those holding debt, those looking to buy houses or roll over fixed rate mortgages are in for a shock.

We have been used to interest rates of under 1% for so long. Unfortunately, this isn’t normal and rates getting back about 4% is more “normal”. There’s a whole generation of people who wont have experienced this.

Suggested Approach: Don’t rush into buying, now probably isn’t the right time

So what can we do?

The first thing to do is to rip up those credit cards. They will tempting you in with points and air miles etc but that’s just a ruse to suck you in and normalise debt. That will keep you poor.

Attack the credit card debt first and then build up 6 months of living costs in cash savings.

Next, let’s tackle the housing market. In the UK, I fear we are in for a tumble or at the very least an extended period of stagnation. The US is probably in a similar place although I’m aware the mortgage situation will probably mean a stagnation rather than a fall there.

The housing market over the past 20 years has been driven by demographics, low interest rates and scarcity. Each of these are now less likely to drive prices upwards.

Demographics: The Western world has seen the advent of women entering the workplace en-mass. This has been brilliant for equality but also brilliant for the housing market. Suddenly, households have two incomes to support bigger mortgages which has pushed up prices. This trend will now be slowing as women are now already in the workplace.

Low Interest Rates: Lower rates mean people can borrow more. This has now gone into reverse.

Scarcity: Scarcity still exists but there are big changes in the market happening as baby boomers retire and start to seek smaller abodes. In the medium term this could free up housing stock for millennials but it may be accompanied by a loss in value if millennials cannot borrow as much due to the interest rate issue.

So, therefore there is little need to rush into the market and buy that bigger house. Maybe this will push people to not see their house so much as an investment but as a home. Particularly with interest rates rising I just feel waiting 18 months will give you a much better chance of entering the market in more stable times.

But, if you find a bargain….go for it!

So, the thing is…

You can always find something to worry about. Look back through history and there were always worries about this or that. Imagine living through the Cuban Missile Crisis or the Vietnam War or go a little further back and you have the Great Depression and two world wars.

You need to find ways to plot your path through and the best way is not worry about those massive things you can’t control. There are hundreds of small decisions you make very day that require your attention. So, focus on those and be sensible with your short time on this Earth.

Hopefully, these ideas for coping with some of those big questions can help you and get individual level.

Now, stop worrying.

Two Recommendations - what to consume this week

1. Salary Negotiation - Sonal Bahl

2. How to let go and stop worrying - Daily Stoic

Three Actions To Take This Week

My vision for this newsletter is to provide you with weekly actions that you can take away and use in your life in the coming week. So, here are three things you could try this week:

1. Try and week of cold showers. Just 30 seconds a day tacked on to your daily shower have have a beneficial impact.

2. Take a daily Vitamin D tablet. There is emerging evidence that Vitamin D can help with your immune system and ward off some cancers.

3. Book some time off work - just having the leave booked will give you something to aim for and ensure the summer doesn’t drift away.

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