Today I want to talk about a topic that most of us do not like to talk about – DEBT.
It feels yucky to even say the word.
We all know that bad debt ( and yes there is such a thing as good debt), but we know that bad debt is reducing the amount of money we have each week and can stop us from doing something that we really want to do.
Bad debt feels bad. We might feel guilt, or shame. Maybe some anger because it was not all in our control, or frustration because we are always running behind.
But we have the solution. Earn more money, right!?
It sounds simple, but have you ever had the experience of paying off a credit card and then it seems that overnight it is maxed out again?
Well I certainly have, and it is not a nice feeling. So frustrating. And why?
The why is an important question. The why is the actual issue.
For me, it was about paying off a card is boring. How is being conscientious and disciplined and serious (don’t know why I think it is serious, just feels like they all go together), how is this fun.
“I should pay the card off, but I’m OK. I earn enough to cover the costs, I will pay it when I have more money.” Right? Wrong!
I have bad news for you. No matter how much more money you earn, if you do not deal with the underlying issues of why you have this debt, and the mindset that feels it is OK to be in debt, it will not matter how much money you make, you will always have the debt.
This is sad and frustrating. You had really thought that as soon as you make some money in your business, then everything will be alright.
The first step is to release the feelings of guilt, shame, frustration and anger over the debt. While you have these feelings you are in a state of stress, the fight or flight response, and this stops the thinking part of your brain being in control .
Whenever the thinking part of your brain, is not operating to full capacity you are not thinking up all the ways that you could be solving the problem.
So the first step is to find all the credit card statements, all the other debts like car payments, furniture payments, and personal loans. Add up all these numbers. What is the total? Are you surprised? Good or bad? It doesn’t matter because the first thing we need to know is the number. Until we know what we are talking about there is nothing we can do. So find the number.
Now the really hard step. Write that number down in big red letters and look at it.
What thoughts are coming up? How are you feeling? Frustration, sad, guilt, anger, shame. It is Ok. We can solve this. It will be fine.
The first thing we need to do is to tap on this stress. While you have this level of stress we can not begin to solve the problem. Stress stops the the thinking brain from working, and leaves you wanting to hide, or eat, or spend more money.