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Our brains are really good at noticing what we don’t want, what’s not right, and what we need to stop doing. But the things we focus on are the things we give energy, attention and power to. So if you have a habit you are trying to change, try focusing on what you want to START doing instead of focusing on what you want to STOP doing. This is challenging to figure out in many cases which means it’s no wonder we have a hard time changing course. I’m going to teach you today how this is useful when it comes to eating healthier and having more money. Listen up and see what I mean.
I enjoyed your podcast on starting not stopping and how we are really changing our thinking about it. However, it felt like you took two different approaches with the two different examples. With food you approached your dietary restriction with a better outlook instead of feeling denied of flour and sugar. I thought that was a great way to view dieting. But when it came to money you didn’t take the same approach of viewing a restriction in a positive light. Instead you said don’t restrict yourself, just go make more money so you can continue your spending habits. If that same approach had been applied to dieting it would have been, ‘don’t stop eating ice cream, just go run more’ and as we all know you would have to run all day to make up for poor food choices. I think it is similar with money. You would have to find a pretty high paying job to balance out a free-for-all trip to Target. I’ve been improving our family finances and helping others over the last few years and, when I find a family that would be considered financially “fat”, I find that the answer seldom lies in getting better employment. Instead, the answer is managing their money better. Of course, just as no one likes to say they can’t eat cookies, no wants to hear that they can’t spend money. However, when I’ve worked with people and explained how to manage their money better they find that not only do they enough to meet their bills and other needs but that there is always enough to grow their savings AND get some wants! It’s amazing because it all comes down to keeping track of the money instead of believing there isn’t enough money. I haven’t listened to all your podcasts yet so maybe you address this along the way but I found it interesting that you took two different approaches on two different issues. Of course, all those moms listening who are up to their knees in credit card debt will think that they don’t have to tell themselves ‘No’ to another piece of unneeded home decor at Hobby Lobby, instead they just need to get a job. However, just as you can out-eat a marathon in one day, even with a new job they will outspend that income in no time if they don’t change their spending habits. I am enjoying your podcasts very much and am glad my sister-in-law told me about them. Thank you.