When I very first started blogging in 2013, I would often have “debt discussions” with my early blog readers. At the time, my husband and I had just decided to pay off our law school debt as fast as we could. Since we had six figures of debt, we knew it was going to be a long haul. Paying off debt was always on my mind and I was happy to talk about our goal and progress with anyone who would listen.
Not everyone is as open and willing to talk about debt with their in person friends as I was. Others who had similar financial struggles and goals were looking for a place to talk about debt. Having debt discussions with my blog readers helped us all stay focused on our financial goals.
Even though I don’t talk about debt as much as I used to, I still can’t help but see the financial analogies in my daily life experiences, so today I’m going to share a recent one with you.
My shoulders
I have been having some problems with my shoulders since early last fall. I knew there was a problem, but I put off seeing a doctor thinking that there was probably nothing he could do about it anyway.
I had waited long enough that my annual physical was coming up so I planned to bring it up with my doctor. He ordered x-rays and sent me to physical therapy.
Never having done physical therapy before, I had low expectations that it could actually help me. I was delighted to have a physical therapist who was very positive and completely confident that she could help me. I didn’t realize how doubtful I had become, until I was exposed to her radiant confidence.
Maybe healing was possible!
She gave me a bit of homework, which I was happy to do, especially with the physical therapist’s confidence that it would help me.
It’s been about a month of weekly physical therapy and I am in a great place! I rarely feel the pain that I used to, though I still avoid certain movements and compensate to avoid potential pain (habits I acquired to try to avoid pain for months before I went to the doctor).
Now my shoulders have improved enough that it’s easy to fall into laziness and neglect doing the things that I know will help me reach my goal of being completely healed.
What my shoulders have to do with your finances
As I reflected on the shoulder experience I am currently living, I couldn’t help but think that it’s kind of like the journey to financial peace that many people have.
Maybe you have a financial pain that has been bothering you for a long time. Maybe it’s debt or bad spending habits. You don’t want to get help or address the problem because you just can’t envision that anything could really ever change.
Then you come across a guide who can help you and knows that healthy finances are actually completely within your reach. She is so positive and confident that you start to believe that maybe financial peace really is possible. Even for you!
You start to follow the plan she has outlined and you have success! After a while you decide that maybe where you’ve gotten is good enough. After all, you’re in a much better place than you started, so you can’t complain.
Still you know if you continue to follow the plan, diligently sticking with the “prescribed exercises,” a full financial recovery is totally possible. Why settle for less?
The prescribed exercises in my case were printed out for me by my physical therapist and given to me along with the stretch bands needed to complete them.
The equivalent in our financial analogy could be budgeting, controlling spending, and sticking with your debt payoff plan.
Don’t give up!
You’ve come so far and overcome so many setbacks.
You’ve developed new habits and learned new skills.
You’ve made progress and had a taste of what is possible.
Don’t stop now. Don’t settle for “good enough.”
In case you can’t tell, I’m absolutely preaching to myself as well.
And I’m convinced! I’m off to do my full regimen of exercises right now.
What about you?
What do you need to recommit to doing to achieve the financial peace that you want? Let’s do this together!
If you need help making a plan to get started on your debt-free journey, check out my Smash Debt Guide.
You’ve got this!
My Shoulders and Your Budget
