By Melanie Buffel, BA Psych, MBA Candidate
Does your financial situation feel like an immovable object – something that cannot be moved and is keeping you from making progress towards your goals? The situation might feel entrenched, even hopeless. The good news is that it doesn’t have to be this way.
Consider the following statements. If they apply to you and your relationship with money, you are probably stuck financially:
- You can only see one way of doing things – and you don’t like your what you see
- You’re overwhelmed by choices – and you don’t know which one to pick
- You don’t know the first step – so you can’t get going
- There’s too much at risk – and you’re afraid of chasing the big dream
To become unstuck, something needs to change. And that change can come from inside. Seeing the same thing in different ways, discovering new insights and changing your attitudes or beliefs, can inspire small behavioural changes. And even small changes maintained over a period of time can shift your life in dramatic ways.
But change often brings with it discomfort and frustration. These feelings are a necessary part of the process, and often provide the fuel to spark the creative and mental energy need to get unstuck, and move forward financially.
Here are five specific actions you can take today to become unstuck, move forward and get closer to reaching your dreams.
1. STOP: Be still, take a deep breath and stop struggling. Be fully in the present, it is the only place where you can take action. This isn’t about ignoring your reality but a shift of focus from the problem to free up energy for the solution.
2. REFLECT: What is really important to you right now? What do you want your life to look like? What actions would you take if money were not an issue?
3. TAKE ANOTHER VIEW: Step back and ask yourself what assumptions you are making in your current situation. What is the story you tell yourself and others? Imagine the opposite is true. What would you do differently?
4. STRENGTHEN THE FOUNDATION: Get organized with the basics of your money management. Develop a clear monthly spending and savings plan to help you feel in control of the money you have and to support informed decision making.
5. TAKE ACTION: Set a reachable short term goal and take action. Provide yourself an experience of success! “Imperfect action is better than perfect procrastination.” (Source unknown).
Getting stuck is part of life, but you don’t have to stay that way. Money need not define your reality. Both reflection and action can help you take back control and feel a sense of progress toward the life you want. Your investment in your financial well-being is well worth it!
Ready to get unstuck? Have a conversation with a Money Coach.
Based in Vancouver, BC, Melanie Buffel is part of the Money Coaches Canada national network of Money Coaches. A Money Coach is a financial professional that helps clients develop a clear understanding of their current financial situation and create a plan that helps them reach their goals. Money Coaches Canada is the nation’s leading, independent provider of advice-only financial planning. Money Coaches do not sell investment or financial products.
