Keeping Your Motivation
Keeping your motivation is not always easy on this debt free journey.
Getting discouraged is easy when that thing you have been working on for months doesn’t seem to be going anywhere.
I have been working on this for years. In the last year, I have been working on it with more meaningful goals than before. I can see the finish line! I think about it all the time. I lay in bed at night and think about it. I dream about it. It is the first thing I think about when I wake up in the morning. My husband says I am always working on it- nose in a book, listening to youtube videos, researching. I am working hard, writing, pinning, reading, learning techniques. My knowledge has grown so much over the last few years.
But how do you keep going?
It is frustrating when you want to see results today. You have seen or heard or read about others that did it in 12, 18, 24 months and you think – why can’t I do that? It’s been six months, why am I not farther along than this? What am I doing wrong?
Nothing. You are not doing anything wrong.
You just need to get out of your head. I have been there and you can do great things.
I always told my mom I was going to change the world and I have always known I was bound for great things. But all my life, I have been looking for that one thing – that one thing besides the gifts I have been given as a wife and a mother – that one thing that is mine. The one thing I can do to help others because I am a helper. Friends know…you need something, you ask. You are sick; I will give you my “special tea” recipe. You need your lawn mowed; I know a guy. Your family needs food; I can get you that.
It is in my blood, runs through my veins, makes my heart beat.
It is in yours, too. You can do this if you can just get out of your head when it comes to money. It isn’t going to take you six months to make it work. It didn’t take you six months to get into debt.
Here’s the thing…get out of your head. Turn off the computer and forget about it for a while. Lose yourself in a great book or go for a walk. Maybe sit by a lake or bake some cookies while listening to Rick Springfield – LOUD! Just give it a rest. It will happen. One foot in front of the other. Let it happen. Give it time. There isn’t any HUGE rush as long as you Just. Keep. Going. It will happen.
I have been where you are and am in a very similar spot right now, so I get it. I do. As I sit right now, I am there. Those thoughts circle around and around so much I am dizzy, and my head is pounding. It is because I am so close to the end (or beginning) that I can almost taste it.
I am here for you.
I am here to keep you accountable. Can I be your buddy? Please email me or send me a message. I am on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and even Twitter. Use me as an accountability buddy. I am more than happy to try and inspire and do anything I can to help you succeed.
If it isn’t me, find someone you love and trust to be your money buddy. Someone who will remind you of what this is all for and who will tell you no when you need it and yes when you are on the right path.
Remember your why.
Why are you doing this and putting yourself through the frustration and anguish? You know the reason, and you know that it will all be worth it. So, write it down. Maybe use a journal and express all those frustrations and feelings. Remind yourself often of the reason, the goals, and the debt-free daydream.
Break it down into smaller goals.
Maybe $100 increments if you need too. Every $100 your debt goes down, add a sticker or eat a Hershey’s kiss and add the wrapper to another jar. Visualization helps so much with debt-free motivation so if you can create a way to see progress, even if it is just the simplest of ways, go with it. It is alright to be as corny as you need to here. I know there are charts that you can color in each time you meet a goal that is fun also. Find a way to make it work for you. That is one of the excellent points to Dave Ramsey’s plan. Listing your debts from smallest to largest helps that debt-free motivation by seeing those little debts disappear and snowballing that money onto the next one to watch the balances go down.
Find Inspiration.
It is so important to surround yourself with like-minded people. Search out those in your community or circle that have similar goals, morals, and inspirations. Find them in your circle or church. If you can’t find them in real life, search them out on youtube, Instagram, or Facebook Groups. Watch their videos of success and ask them about their challenges. Open up to them about yours and seek guidance from those who have been there and done that. With Social Media so easy to access, you have a whole debt free family just waiting to cheer you on. We are a fantastic group with huge hearts and even bigger cheerleading pom poms!
Listen to the debt-free screams on Dave Ramsey’s Show. It never gets old!
Most important is to feel the disappointment and allow the discouraged feelings to sit for a while. Then, be done and get back to work. Don’t wallow. Feel it. Then let it go. It’s not a sprint, its a marathon. Keep going. You will get there!
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