Last week I talked about “Don’t condemn yourself for Borrowing.” If you missed that post, you can review it HERE. This week’s post is “Keeping yourself encouraged.” Sometimes when you are on your debt relief journey you have opportunities to become discouraged. If you prepare ahead of time you can be ready when discouragement tries to come on you. Learn more in this week’s blog.
Even the most motivated people have times when discouragement tries to come on them. Even when they are making progress on their goal, something will come up that they want to buy or do. Don’t wait until that happens to you to try to figure out what you are going to do. Having a plan will help you deal with what is coming against you.
The first thing that you have to accept is that discouragement is going to try to get you. Let me emphasize the try part. You don’t have to become discouraged, it is something that you choose to do. But if you are surprised when discouragement comes or if you don’t have a plan to deal with it, you are more likely to become discouraged.
One of the things that you need to be aware of are your trigger points. These are the things that cause you to become discouraged. Once you have identified them, STAY AWAY! For example you may like to buy things when you go to the mall. If that is true, you probably also get discouraged when you can’t buy something. The solution to that is simple. DON’T GO TO THE MALL! You are setting yourself up for disappointment.
In addition to staying away from your trigger points, research things that you can do inexpensively. You can plan these activities ahead of time so you have something to look forward to. Focus on what you are going to do and use the anticipation to build excitement. Don’t look at things you can’t do right now.
When you schedule an activity, make it something you enjoy doing. It could be a picnic at the park. It could be a walk by the lake or on the beach. Try things that you haven’t done before. You may be surprised to find that you really enjoy a particular activity and it will really help take your mind off what you are not doing.
This is also a great time to get together with friends and family. Make sure that they are on board with your debt reduction program so that a planned good activity doesn’t turn into a trigger point for discouragement. Just as you have to stay away from certain activities, you may also have to limit your time with certain people.
The main thing that you need to be aware of is what you are focusing on. Keep your focus positive and on your goals. See yourself when you are done, feeling happy and being free of debt. Think about what you will do when you don’t have to make payments on things you did in the past any more. Think about how you will use your money when you are not giving a big chunk of it to the finance companies and credit card providers.
This is also a great time to focus on new skills and interests. Do your research online and at the library. You don’t have to spend money to learn new skills. Remember to focus on the fact that once your debt is gone, you will have a lot more options than you do right now.
So remember that being prepared and planning ahead will keep you out of situations and thoughts that lead to discouragement.
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God Bless your week!