Creating The Right Mindset to Get Out of Debt

mindset get out of debtMany of you are constantly thinking about ways to change your habits, your finances, your life, and whatever else you can to help make the future better.  That’s what smart people do.

When it comes to making change happen, the first step you have to take is to create a mindset for yourself that’s going to allow you to succeed.

Let’s face it, if you decide you want to make changes big or small, but you don’t really take the step of preparing for that change, then it’s just wishful thinking- you’re living in a fantasy world.

Good preparation breeds success.

 

4 Tips for Getting The Right Mindset

So here are a few tips to make sure you create the right mindset to succeed in whatever you choose to do:

  • Take Responsibility-  Obviously, if your intent is to change something in your life for the better, you’re probably not happy with the way things have been going.  Whether it’s your finances, spiritual life, your health, or anything else, take responsibility for what you’ve been doing wrong (or haven’t been doing at all).  Be totally honest with yourself.  Don’t cling to the past, just start moving forward.  Even the smallest steps will get you moving in the right direction.  Then you can build momentum from there.
  • Decide That Change is Permanent-  Tell yourself repeatedly that you’re done with those old habits and it’s time to start something new.  You have to actively convince your brain because it’s naturally very resistant to changing patterns that have been established.  So tell yourself out loud “I’m done with ___________” and “I’m gonna start doing ________________”.  There’s a certain power about saying it out loud that just works better at overcoming that resistance.  Do it now and do it often.
  • Follow Through-  Once you’ve started convincing your brain and your spirit that change is inevitable, you have to take the actions necessary for change to come.  Start eating right and exercising, start doing a written budget, or spend more time with your family.  Whatever you made a commitment for yourself to do, Just Do It.
  • Stay Committed–   It’s not so hard to effect change in your life for a few days or even a few weeks.  But for long lasting change to happen it usually takes a minimum of 30 days before your new habit truly takes hold.  Even after 30 days you’ll find there will be times when living up to that commitment is hard.

So what do you do when difficulty comes?  You suck it up and continue on.  Keep it up, it will continue to get easier over time.

 

Change Takes Hard Work

Remember, sometimes change is easy, but most of the time it just takes plenty of hard work.  But when you’ve fully committed yourself to improving your life in one way or another, the best thing you can do is to keep moving forward.

Staying stuck in life is depressing and it never allows you to live the life you want for yourself.

So go for it, stay motivated, stay focused, and keep moving forward into your best future!

Question:  What things are you working on to move into your best future?

 

Resources:

Firewalking Your Dreams

It Takes 30 Days to Change

Paralyzed With Fear Because Your In Debt?

Get Out of Debt By Telling Yourself a Different Story

How to Make Your Own Life Plan

About Dr. Jason Cabler

14 Responses to “Creating The Right Mindset to Get Out of Debt”

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  1. I’m working on maintaining an ultra-healthy diet. The key for me is altering the reward. Rather than enjoying the ‘reward’ of eating tasty but nutritionally gross food, I focus on the rewards of a healthful diet: I’m lean, get all my nutrition from my diet, am in the lowest risk category for heart disease, have cut my risk of many types of cancer, have great energy, and generally feel fantastic.

  2. Great post, Jason. These are exactly the things we’ve learned to do as we work to pay off a mountain of debt, and it works! Thanks for the motivation here!

  3. The biggest thing we’re currently working on is destroying my wife’s student loans. Once they’re gone we’re going to increase her retirement contributions by a big chunk and then decide how we want to enjoy our money going forward 🙂

  4. I love this post and I couldn’t agree more. As a girl who was tens of thousands of dollars in debt in my 20s I had to hit rock bottom with my money before I would even consider paying off my debt. I fully committed to my goal by moving to a cheaper apartment and getting a second job. Then I became so addicted to the high that came with becoming debt free that I got a third job to make even more money and pay off my debt even faster. Great post.

  5. Wow, what a great story! Once you get rolling and start seeing results it makes a difference, doesn’t it? Stay fired up Tahnya!

  6. dojo says:

    Good advice. My ‘road’ to being debt-free wasn’t too easy, but taking responsibility for what I did and working my way step by step helped me get there. It’s not easy, but it can surely be done 😉

  7. Jim says:

    Great points Dr. Cabler, its also important to know that most people resist change, are stuck in a comfort zone. It’s unfortunate how people pay in opportunity costs when they are resistant to change. Life could be so much more rewarding sometimes, if you would just do ‘it’!

  8. Gotta have action. Getting out of the comfort zone is a must!

    Thanks for the comment Jim!

  9. adam says:

    How many people actually checked that there was a debt that you owed before you “paid” that debt?

    The sad thing today is that almost all “debt” is not your debt at all. As the USA is bankrupt (since 1933) you cannot accrue any debt… only a liability. This includes credit cards, loans, student loans etc. When you apply (legal def’ to beg) for a loan you actually create the “money” that the bank then lends back to you. Most people haven’t got a clue what money is or how it is created. Your application IS the money that you then gift to the bank. Learn what money is and you will soon see that you are all very very rich indeed and have NO debts at all.

    If you were to ask the bank to prove that they DID lend you something… you would make a much bigger step to getting debt free than saying no to trips or going out with friends etc.

    Have you ever asked yourself “If i’m borrowing some money, why does the bank only extend to me credit?” The very sad thing is that people don’t know the difference between money and credit. If you asked for apples and got oranges would you just accept that?

    If you simply stop paying “your debt” and let a debt collector buy the debt, you are instantly debt free and for free! The debt collector would have paid the debt off for you and the original creditor (the bank) will have discharged the debt… this means no more debt owed. You then just need to ask the debt collector to show you were you agreed to pay them for paying the debt off for you. Works every time!

    Think about it. If I paid all the debt off for every person who visits this site would those people be liable to me or not? Of course not, we never agreed that they would pay me back a single cent BEFORE I paid their debts for them.

    We should stop putting so much into the “credit score”. It is only a measure of how good you are at being fooled into thinking you owe money to somebody. The higher your credit score the more ignorant (without knowledge) you are in your financial matters. So if you need an apartment and your credit score is low… get a guarantor. Need a job and your credit score is low… find a job that employs you not your credit score.

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