Meljo's Place: Breaking the Chains.

Breaking the chains that hold you!

In order to move towards your goal, in order to get motivated you need to first break the chains that hold you.

Thinking about making a change is a start, but actually doing it, is a task. Some people are easily motivated and others… well it’s hard.

I was talking to my cousin the other day & she made a good point. It is easier to tell/show someone what they need to do because it is not you going through it. You are the only one that is keeping yourself from moving forward. The resources are out there that can help you. Just sometimes it takes a little digging to find them.

What do you need to do to help you get on your feet & move towards your goal?

Is it money? They do say money is the root of all evil and sometimes it’s the chain that holds you down. When I first started nursing school, I realized that my income was going to be less then what I wanted to. I would have to focus on my studies and pay for school. My husband and I refuse to have student loans so we started to get rid of things, INCLUDING negative people.

Looking at your budget in a glance.

You need to have money for necessities. Home, food, transportation, utilities, family (day care, medical etc.) This is a given, however do you need cable, those overpriced lattes & extra entertainment budget? NO those are wants. I am certain that you have heard this before, who hasn't? But what has kept you from it? Are you needing budget tools to help? On debt.org they help you create and manage a budget. This is one way to help you break those chains of debt, allowing you to move forward towards your goal.

Once you reached your goals you can go back & get what you want because, as Dave Ramsey says, your budget allows you to. You really have to comb through your budget, be brutally truthful & start rearranging. This includes your insurances & cell phones etc. Shop around & look for discounts. Check to see if companies offer business, service (military/firefighter/nurse etc) discounts. Your employer may even offer corporate discounts. Check out 10 Smart ways to improve your budget. Learn-vest has an app to see where your money is going as well as Mint.com. These are great tools for those visual learners. If you VISUALLY see where money is going it could jump start you to make a positive change. As Howard Clark says it's time to ditch that debt.

ORGANIZING.

Stuck in a clutter of STUFF? Throw an organizing party. Offer food & do time increments. A friend of mine did this & it was amazing. She asked mutual friends to come at different times. You could pick morning, afternoon or late afternoon to help out. GENIUS!!! Sticky notes were placed on items that she didn't want anyone touching, moving or giving away. In one day the kitchen, living/bedroom and guest bedroom were done. ONE WHOLE day! Before you run out to buy stuff to organize, repurpose items you already have. Remember, Stuff, is money waiting to be generated, repurposed or donated. Stuff can cause chaos & overwhelming emotions that could chain you down.

EXTRA MONEY.

On the Today show, find hidden money around your house, you can We started selling things on eBay/craigslist for extra income. We sold things we didn’t use or no longer needed. This extra money went towards projects.

If you love to go out and don't want to compromise your budget, search your local city for free events. Austin has a website dedicated to free things to do. AWESOME!

Bartering is another great tool that can help you succeed. If you have something to offer they may have something for you. Don’t have skills that you think someone might want or need? Think again. Walk a pet, house/baby/pet sit, mow a lawn, water their plants, run errands, organize their house or light housekeeping. Offer to baby sit while they study and vice versa. Think outside the box.

LETTING GO OF NEGATIVE PEOPLE.

Sometimes letting go of negative people is the hardest thing to do. It needs to be something that you acknowledge & ask yourself are ready to be clear & free of them. The Minimalists shows you that it is ok to move on. On psychology today, dealing with negative people may require you to deal with your own negativity. Sometimes it's not even a person, but your own feelings towards things. When you see; what you perceive as skinny fit people or someone who has reached their goals, when you have not, it could be tasking & chain you down. YOU have to be willing to make that change for YOU!

FACE YOUR LIFE.

Face your life. Yes, a lot of people avoid things so they do not have to deal with them. I was one of them. I'll do it tomorrow. I will look at later. I will call them when... Not facing things at the time could be the biggest chain that weighs you down to the point of drowning.

I wanted to go back to school. I know that I needed to do things in order to balance school, life and work. Not making a budget, not reaching out to the school for help or organizing my time held me back. The longer you wait, the longer it will take you to move forward. A friend let her bills pile up because she didn't have the funds to take care of them. As the bills piled up, the hole of debt got deeper to the point she owed a lot more then if she had picked up the phone & made arrangements with companies.

Facing your challenges will bring you closer to your goals. Facing your life will help you manage what you need to do. REMEMBER this is for YOU!! Doing this for you makes it easier for you to help who ever you need to help. your family, your relationship.

LOVE YOURSELF.

Learn to be thankful for what you have. Learn to utilize what you have. Re-use it Write in your notebook. I am thankful for…. You could be worse off. Tiny Buddha shows you 6 ways to love yourself. Psychology today states its a gift of intimacy, not of will-power to love yourself.

When you wake up, love yourself. Tell yourself I will & I can. Make a change for you. No one else. You want to be happy and healthy and love what you do.

Break those chains, reach your goal & live the life YOU want.