FINANCIAL FREEDOM:
MAKING UP YOUR MIND
Making up one’s mind seems to be one of the
biggest challenges we face when it comes to decisions making. We may desire to
cultivate a certain habit but fail to gather enough will power to follow
through on a consistent basis until we get the desired results. We often make a
few attempts and then fall back to our old habits. The challenge is in getting
to that place where our minds is fully made up. it may involve making up our
minds until our minds is fully made up. We tend to foot drag and tolerate
what we ought not to tolerate, giving ourselves excuses while we are frozen on
one spot. The we give excuses.
For most people, the excuse they give for
being perpetually broke is that of not enough money. Deep down, we know that
more money does not solve our money problems. Rather it compounds it by
generating more expenditure. As an employee whose income goes up every year –
either through annual performance appraisals, negotiations, periodic reviews
due to inflation etc. The salary goes up year on year but the worker is never
satisfied. The ends stubbornly refuse to meet while the end of month vigil for
salary payment goes on everywhere they are employees no matter the size of the
pay packet.
What triggers change in people is a topic that has
fascinated me for a while. I went in search of the mystery until I finally
stumbled on it. There is a certain place we get to where change happens. There
is a certain threshold we hit and decide we’ve had just about enough.
Enough is the place where change happens –
when enough is enough. We cannot take it anymore. Change must happen now! Some
called it the tipping point, or when the cup runs over, also when you cross the
red line. For most, anger plays a big role. We tolerate and tolerate until we
get to a point we explode and vow never again! We may tolerate a job we hate
until one day we just could not take it anymore, we stand up and walk away.
We can get used to being broke and always not
having enough, always scraping the bottom of the barrel until you hit the
thresh hold and say ‘This is it. Not again! I will do whatever it takes. I
cannot continue living like this’
Until you get to that point, your attempts
will be halfhearted – save today, spend it a month later, do list shopping
today, give in to impulse tomorrow, buy assets today, resume your love affair
with liabilities tomorrow.
What would it take you to say ‘Enough is
enough. I cannot continue like this.
I will do whatever it takes to change’?
What would take you to your tipping point?
Usiere Uko is a writer and author of Practical Steps to Financial Freedom and Independence.