Yesterday in the training class at my day job, we had a new trainer for the week. As is tradition, there is an ice breaker that gives us a chance to know more about the trainer and for the trainer and the class to learn more about yourself. Yesterday, ours was to create a five item "bucket list", or a list of things that you wanted to accomplish before you "kick the bucket".
One person stated that one of their items was to have more money, at which point, I stood up, walked over to that person and handed them a nickel. I stated that they could now cross that item off their bucket list because they now had more money.
She did.
The problem was that this was not a SMART goal. For those of you familiar with SMART goals, you know that goals need to be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and with a Time table. If not, they are just wishes. To achieve a goal, you have to know what you are going for. This takes a little bit of time, but it is worth it to have your goals specifically lined out, especially when working toward eliminating debt from your life (at this moment, I have $56,493.23 in debt and I keep several spreadsheet on my laptop to chart the progress).
Have a great day!
Showing posts with label goals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label goals. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
PMA: Developing The Habit
A Positive Mental Attitude is essential to success when it comes to your life and when it comes to eliminating your credit card debt. Some people mistakenly assume that you have to think that they have to walk around the whole time of their life with a smile on your face, say that "everything is great" (even with your world crumbling down, and always be peppy. That may be perfect for a select few, but
I am a realist.
Some may say that if a 16 ounce glass has 8 ounces of water in it that, if you are a pessimist, the glass is half empty. Somebody else will look at that same glass and say, if they are an optimist, that the glass is half full. I will look at the glass and say that the glass is the wrong size. The same exercise can be used with credit cards. You may have the ability to keep up with your monthly payments so you may look at how much credit line you have left. Or, you may look and see how much debt is piling up.
Sometimes you have to step back and ask yourself what the heck is going on. Credit cards can be a trap for many people and it may take them years to develop the habit of not using credit cards except in an emergency. Developing that type of habit can take time. Having a positive mental attitude to help you attract the things that you want in life takes time as well. Start small, if you must by writing down a small goal and work toward that. Make it attainable and achievable and when you tackle that goal, move on to another one that is slightly more challenging for you and that will build on the strength that you developed earlier. The pattern of success will help "train" you to become more and more successful.
Keep working at it and have a GREAT day!
I am a realist.
Some may say that if a 16 ounce glass has 8 ounces of water in it that, if you are a pessimist, the glass is half empty. Somebody else will look at that same glass and say, if they are an optimist, that the glass is half full. I will look at the glass and say that the glass is the wrong size. The same exercise can be used with credit cards. You may have the ability to keep up with your monthly payments so you may look at how much credit line you have left. Or, you may look and see how much debt is piling up.
Sometimes you have to step back and ask yourself what the heck is going on. Credit cards can be a trap for many people and it may take them years to develop the habit of not using credit cards except in an emergency. Developing that type of habit can take time. Having a positive mental attitude to help you attract the things that you want in life takes time as well. Start small, if you must by writing down a small goal and work toward that. Make it attainable and achievable and when you tackle that goal, move on to another one that is slightly more challenging for you and that will build on the strength that you developed earlier. The pattern of success will help "train" you to become more and more successful.
Keep working at it and have a GREAT day!
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Belief: The Secret Ingredient
Yesterday, we talked about how a positive mental attitude is a great tool to help you achieve your goal of eliminating your credit card debt. It isn't just a tool that will serve you to achieve that goal, but it can bleed over to any aspect of your life. When studying positive mental attitude in my life, I have noticed one key ingredient:
Belief.
You have to first believe that you will achieve what you are going to achieve. It may be a goal of losing a certain amount of weight, it may be to have a certain amount of money in your checking account, it may be what we have talked about here at this blog for the past 100+ days, eliminating your credit card debt. There is a saying that goes, "whether you believe you can, or believe you can't, you are right."
It seems that when you believe something, subconsciously you begin to align yourself with actions, habits, and surroundings that will make it more of a reality. For example, if you believe whole-heartedly that you can write a book. you will start to notice how others write their books. You may read more. You may notice an article on ezinearticles.com. Perhaps you submit an article there and you get the idea on what you want your book to be about. You start to keep a notebook about the points that your book will cover. Then you create a rough sketch outline. Then you fill it in. The next thing you know, you have a book on your hands (mine will be available soon at www.money-for-my-life.com ).
You see, you gotta believe, and the rest will "magically" take care of itself. Be careful and do not mistake "like" with "belief". There is a difference between saying "I would like to earn $1,000" and "I believe I will earn $1,000." Can you spot the difference?
Have a GREAT day! Believe in yourself!
Belief.
You have to first believe that you will achieve what you are going to achieve. It may be a goal of losing a certain amount of weight, it may be to have a certain amount of money in your checking account, it may be what we have talked about here at this blog for the past 100+ days, eliminating your credit card debt. There is a saying that goes, "whether you believe you can, or believe you can't, you are right."
It seems that when you believe something, subconsciously you begin to align yourself with actions, habits, and surroundings that will make it more of a reality. For example, if you believe whole-heartedly that you can write a book. you will start to notice how others write their books. You may read more. You may notice an article on ezinearticles.com. Perhaps you submit an article there and you get the idea on what you want your book to be about. You start to keep a notebook about the points that your book will cover. Then you create a rough sketch outline. Then you fill it in. The next thing you know, you have a book on your hands (mine will be available soon at www.money-for-my-life.com ).
You see, you gotta believe, and the rest will "magically" take care of itself. Be careful and do not mistake "like" with "belief". There is a difference between saying "I would like to earn $1,000" and "I believe I will earn $1,000." Can you spot the difference?
Have a GREAT day! Believe in yourself!
Monday, June 1, 2009
June-"Bugs"
As you strive to eliminate credit card debt from your life, there are always challenges or "bugs" that come up and may create a temporary hindrance to your goal. They will happen, and you have to pay them some attention, but you don't need to be paralyzed by them. In fact, knowing that things may come up can be empowering in some small way.
It is good to remain focused on the ultimate goal which is to become credit card debt free. Recently I had a bit of a "stumble" because I had to have one of my back teeth crowned. I was told that a tooth that had a filling (for about 30 years) had to be replaced. No big deal because I have dental insurance, although, I will admit, I don't like to visit dentists and often neglect to have regular checkups. There even was an FSA that had been set up through my work although it was funded for my yearly glasses expense. I was not "pleasantly" surprised when the bill was nearly $600 with insurance.
I paid it, although the money could have been used for my glasses, but we shall overcome that. The focus still remains on lowering credit card debt and eliminating that from my life. It does affect everything that is one and saving money has become somewhat of a passion in my life. Yesterday is a good example. Time was not allotted to prepare my lunch to take to work and when my lunch hour came, I went to Wendy's. I kick myself now because I could have used the money saved by packing ramen noodles to have an extra $6.85 to pay toward credit card debt.
So it is with life. It doesn't matter how many times you may stumble or fall, what matters is how many times you brush yourself off and get back into the race in which slow and steady wins the race in the long run.
Have a GREAT day! (You can sign up for my eBook notification on the right side of the blog).
It is good to remain focused on the ultimate goal which is to become credit card debt free. Recently I had a bit of a "stumble" because I had to have one of my back teeth crowned. I was told that a tooth that had a filling (for about 30 years) had to be replaced. No big deal because I have dental insurance, although, I will admit, I don't like to visit dentists and often neglect to have regular checkups. There even was an FSA that had been set up through my work although it was funded for my yearly glasses expense. I was not "pleasantly" surprised when the bill was nearly $600 with insurance.
I paid it, although the money could have been used for my glasses, but we shall overcome that. The focus still remains on lowering credit card debt and eliminating that from my life. It does affect everything that is one and saving money has become somewhat of a passion in my life. Yesterday is a good example. Time was not allotted to prepare my lunch to take to work and when my lunch hour came, I went to Wendy's. I kick myself now because I could have used the money saved by packing ramen noodles to have an extra $6.85 to pay toward credit card debt.
So it is with life. It doesn't matter how many times you may stumble or fall, what matters is how many times you brush yourself off and get back into the race in which slow and steady wins the race in the long run.
Have a GREAT day! (You can sign up for my eBook notification on the right side of the blog).
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Batter Up!
It’s baseball season and all of your favorite teams are geared up (or are in the process). Are you ready for some financial fitness? When you are on the journey to eliminate your credit card debt, why not make it a game? Yesterday’s blog (Here’s A Game To Play) outlined my quest to clean out my pantry and only shop for perishables. So far, so good (ok, ok, it has only been one day).
Seriously, I look to have an extra $150 to pay down my credit card debt and get me closer to being free, and what a feeling that will be! Don’t you believe that you deserve that same feeling? I truly believe that everybody can achieve that state in your financial life. No longer do you need to be held captive by the pirates of penalties and the icons of interest. The key is to TAKE ACTION and TAKE ACTION NOW to eliminate credit card debt. It doesn’t have to be a start from standing still to running a marathon, but it has to start somewhere. Sure you could swing for the fences and hit a homerun, but perhaps you should start by hitting singles.
The key to success in any plan is to simply begin. TAKE ACTION TODAY!
Seriously, I look to have an extra $150 to pay down my credit card debt and get me closer to being free, and what a feeling that will be! Don’t you believe that you deserve that same feeling? I truly believe that everybody can achieve that state in your financial life. No longer do you need to be held captive by the pirates of penalties and the icons of interest. The key is to TAKE ACTION and TAKE ACTION NOW to eliminate credit card debt. It doesn’t have to be a start from standing still to running a marathon, but it has to start somewhere. Sure you could swing for the fences and hit a homerun, but perhaps you should start by hitting singles.
The key to success in any plan is to simply begin. TAKE ACTION TODAY!
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