How to turn your ‘I want’ into an ‘I got’
If you really want to pay off your debt or travel, you’ll be able to make it happen
I think one of the biggest problems people have when it comes to their money is figuring out what to do with it.
Yes, there are the bills to be paid. And for some people, the routine bills eat all the money. But many others have disposable income that disappears every month, even as they are a-wishin’ and a-dreamin’ about what their lives could be like.
Think for a minute: what is the one thing you wish you could do, have, be? What reoccurring “I want” do you have in your life? What have you not been doing because you have a sense that you just can’t afford it?
Now think about how you’re spending your money right now. Is it to make your “I want” a reality? If it isn’t, THAT’S why your “I want” is still an “I want.” You aren’t doing anything about it. And you’re letting less worthy stuff intrude into your “I want” space.
People tell me all the time “I want to get my debt paid off” or “I want to buy a house” or “I want to able to travel” and their “I want” statements are quickly followed by “but.”
There’s no BUT. Either you do want it or you don’t want it. Quit your vacillating. Do you or don’t you want it?
If you do want it then you will do everything you can to make it so. You’ll cut all the spending you do on crap. You’ll get an extra job. You’ll get what you want.
The only way you won’t get what you want is if you’re only pretending to want what you say you want. Then you’ll go out for dinner twice a week, you’ll spend money on coffee, tea and beer, and you’ll buy every little nonsense that catches your eye.
You’ll also keep whining about the fact that you can’t have what you say you really want.
I have met so many people who decided what they wanted and made it so. A lot of them wanted to be out of debt and they managed to pay off huge amounts of the yucky stuff with focus and attention to the details.
It’s actually pretty awesome listening to some of the stories.
These are Joanna and Joseph Average in every way except their determination. They know what they want and they get it. It isn’t easy — hey, life is full of ups and downs — but they persist. And they achieve.
If you’ve been “I wanting” for a while now, and you haven’t “I got” yet, you may have to ask yourself some tough questions about just how important your “I want” really is.
Hey, if it’s just some pipe dream and you’re not committed, let it go. You’ll be happier living in your right now.
But if it’s something you do really want, what are you doing right now to get it?