When looking for debt solutions, it’s tempting to focus only on practical tools and strategies. However, if you don’t adopt the right mindset, you’re at risk of continuing to unconsciously indulge the habits that got you in trouble in the first place.
The Debt Mindset – 5 Mental Changes That Will Help
If you want to get out of debt for good (and create a mindset that will help you build wealth), the following five tips are:
Take a deep breath and take responsibility
This first step is the hardest (so many people remain in their downward debt spirals). It’s far more comfortable to blame your debt on external factors. Furthermore, it’s easy to convince yourself that you’re right to do so. After all, you wouldn’t be in debt if your boss wasn’t so stingy with wages, if your partner didn’t spend so much, or didn’t have that injury that keeps plaguing you.
Of course, your circumstances will be unique to you. However, we all share in common that we see these excuses as valid reasons for our debt is not our fault. While this denial of blame offers some surface comfort, it also holds us back from taking responsibility for our financial situations and actively pursuing a solution.
Rise to the challenge
Once you’ve stepped away from seeing your debt as an unfair burden, you’re free to shift your mindset even further. View it as a challenge that will help you grow as a person and develop vital wealth-building skills.
You can take this mindset even further and see your debt as a blessing in disguise. Though this may sound strange, the truth is, all the strategies you apply to get out of debt will become powerful tools for building financial stability once you’re free of the debt cycle.
Know your enemy
Try to imagine that debt is like a boss you have to fight in a video game. Sure, this one is going to be tough to beat. However, the potential rewards of success are great once the fight is over. Your next step will then be to learn everything you can about your enemy.
This means knowing the precise amount you owe and the nature of each debt. For example, the best way to tackle one massive student loan will be different from the winning strategy for eliminating credit card debt and small cash loans.
Develop your strategy
Once you know what you’re dealing with, it’s time to develop a strategy designed to hit your debt where it hurts and bring it to its knees as quickly as possible. To do this, you may wish to enlist the services of a financial advisor. Even if you’re on a tight budget, there are non-profit organizations established to help you get the advice you need.
Make a game of it
The video game reference made in point three wasn’t a throw-away comment. This is a key to developing the kind of mindset that will see you through all the tough times while paying off your debt. Gamifying the experience will help you push through when you feel like giving up, especially if you include plenty of non-monetary rewards for hitting key milestones.
Debt may be the hardest challenge you’ve faced to date, but you’ll be equipped with some powerful tools for building a financially free future once you get past it. Get your mindset right, and the rest will follow.
