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Conquering debt with a mindset change
Julie Murphy • February 23, 2011
Whether it be student loans, a mortgage, that car note or plain old credit cards, the majority of Americans are in some sort of debt. And most of us have some sort of shame associated with it. A lot of us blame our debt on not being able to do the things we want in life. But it’s really the shame that holds us back from our true life purpose.
A few weeks ago, I talked about attracting wealth. If you set the intention to create a better life and take significant steps towards it, you will attract positive people with the same goals. This principle works the other way as well. If you think of your debt as insurmountable and you tell yourself you’ll never be able to get it under control, you put yourself in a negative place. When it comes to debt, your motivation needs to come from a positive place in order to make major changes.
Letting fear dictate our actions
There’s two ways to conquer debt: the positive way or the negative way. When you come at debt from a negative perspective, you don’t get very far. Negative self talk leads to lackluster efforts and failed attempts at making long-term changes. Eventually, you fall of the wagon completely. And then you feel worse than before.
After the recession really hit home, people acted out of fear. Seeing our friends or family lose their jobs was a terrifying wake-up call, and we anxiously reacted. We started saving money out of fear of losing our jobs; a recession means we have to cut back on anything fun. And we stopped going after the things we wanted in life because we were discouraged by the economy; and we told ourselves that our dreams could wait, right? It’s difficult to look at what you can do with what you have when you’re focused on what you can’t.
Letting of fear and truly conquering debt
When you come at conquering debt from a positive perspective, you net totally different results. Instead of being fearful of what might happen, be excited about what will happen. When you’re putting away money in savings, think about positive things that money is going to do for you.
Come from the same place when paying down your debt. Allow yourself to be happy when you put money on a big bill; celebrate the fact that you’re closer to your goal. Thinking positive about the changes you’re making in your financial life make the process easier. And always keep your end goal in mind. All those inches you take towards your dream are significant habitual changes, and you should be proud.
Tags: conquer debt, get out of debt, emotion behind debt, emotion behind money, personal finance, money advice, Julie Murphy, money, debt, psychology of money
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Clear the path to prosperity by focusing on what truly serves your highest good in terms of wealth and well-being.