Investment & Financial Articles
Title: Ten Tips to Break the Debt Cycle -- For Good!
Author: Paula Langguth Ryan
Article:
Break the Debt Cycle - For Good! excerpted from Bounce Back From
Bankruptcy by Paula Langguth Ryan
You can become debt-free and STAY debt-free if you follow these
practical and spiritual tips. Money is energy. Nothing less,
nothing more. It does not have any power to control your
actions...only your thoughts control your actions. Our thoughts
about money usually fall in one of three planes. At the bottom
is where you'll find most of us. This is where we spend our
energy and time worrying about and talking about our money
problems. Where we spend most of our time saying things like
"
I'm not going to have enough money to..."
You can take the first step toward breaking the debt cycle by
elevating your thinking. You can start elevating your thinking
to the next level BY SETTING GOALS FOR YOURSELF. This level is
where we spend our energy and time saying things like "I want to
achieve this goal I've set, BUT I've got these money
problems..." If you're already on this level, congratulate
yourself! You're one step closer to permanent prosperity already!
You'll reach the third and highest level once you make a
committed effort to put the following ten tips to use in your
life. When you've reached this plane, you'll find yourself
saying things like "I have this goal, and it may be a very tiny
goal, but it is my goal, and this is the next step I'm going to
take to make this goal a reality."
For example, if you're worried right now about meeting this
month's mortgage payment, and your goal is to come up with
enough money to pay the mortgage by the date it's due, then
you're on your way. Several of the tips below will immediately
generate cash on hand to help you make your goal a reality.
Other tips will help you build a foundation underneath you, so
that more cash will come to you.
I encourage you to start putting each of these tips to use in
your life TODAY. Work toward progress, not perfection. Don't
beat yourself up if you can't do everything at once. Take it a
step at a time and keep moving forward. Above all else, know
that YOU ARE PROSPEROUS!
1: FREE UP THE TRAPPED PROSPERITY IN YOUR LIFE. Release things
that take up "space" in your life. Friends who sap your energy
and provide nothing in return. Books, clothes, food, what are
you stockpiling that you don't use? Look at everything you
haven't used in over a year and find a way to sell it or trade
it in.
2: PAY WHAT YOU CAN NOW. If you have debts to pay, and you have
savings, don't withhold money and say, "I'll pay these debts
later, when I have more money so I don't have to touch my
savings." Free up that money, put it into the universe. You
can't get a flow of money coming in to you unless you have a
flow of money coming out. Don't put off paying what you can pay
today.
3: RELEASE PEOPLE FROM THEIR DEBTS TO YOU. If you have lent
money in the past, or extended credit, and you know that the
chances for you ever getting that money back are remote, release
them from their debt to you. Call or write them and say, "I want
you to know that I've decided to consider this money a gift to
you. I am freeing you from any obligation to repay this money,
ever, and I hope you'll accept this gift with all my love." You
then make it possible for that money or more to come to you from
some other source.
4: SEE THE HIGHEST GOOD FOR EVERYONE. When you're in a situation
where you think, "they're going to try and rip me off" affirm "I
see the highest good for both of us." Then know this person will
do right by you.
5: GIVE THANKS FOR YOUR DEBTS. When you pay your debts, hold
them one by one in your hand and give thanks for whatever that
debt represents. "Thank you Universe for Cable Television, which
enables us as a family to watch movies together at home." "Thank
you Universe for this dental bill, which took away the pain in
my mouth." "Thank you Universe for this mortgage, which lets us
live in this home we love."
6: DON'T BRAG ABOUT WHAT YOU PLAN TO ACCOMPLISH OR |ABOUT THE
PROSPERITY IN YOUR LIFE. Instead, imagine it as accomplished,
then go about your daily business, putting the stepping stones
in place for your pathway to your goal. Then, once you've
accomplished your goal, go inside yourself and give thanks for
your abundance. And give back to those who have helped you
achieve your prosperity.
7: DON'T LET PRIDE STAND IN THE WAY OF YOUR PROSPERITY. You can
be your own worst enemy if you refuse to accept your prosperity
in whatever form it takes. As you practice the laws of
prosperity, people around you will suddenly start giving you
things. Don't refuse these gifts as charity or acts of pity.
They are the first evidence that your prosperous thinking is
paying off. Joyfully accept these gifts. Stop yourself before
you say, "Oh you shouldn't have." "This is too expensive." "I
couldn't possibly accept." Practice accepting gifts graciously.
"
Bless your heart!" "You're an angel!" "Glory be!" "Thank
you."
8: BE PATIENT WITH YOURSELF AS YOU LEARN PROSPERITY SKILLS.
Don't be like the farmer who planted corn, then cut off all the
tassels that appeared, because he was looking to grow EARS of
corn, not tassels. Don't dismiss the results you get as weeds.
Know that whatever grows in your life is for your highest good.
9: LOOK FOR THE LESSON IN EXPERIENCES. When a "negative" happens
to us, it's usually a nudge to help us choose a better direction
for our lives, for our growth. Don't waste your time and energy
bemoaning an event. Stop and center yourself and figure out what
you were meant to learn, how this event will help you achieve
your goals. Don't ask, "Why did this happen to me?" Ask, "What
am I going to do about it?"
10: LET GO OF PREJUDICES. Don't spend time and energy worrying
about others, or how others perceive you. Remember the old
taunt, "I'm rubber and you're glue...whatever you say bounces
off me and sticks on you?" The same goes for positive thoughts
and words. Don't set yourself above anyone else, or love others
"
in spite of" their actions. Learn to love everyone
unconditionally and that love will flow back to you tenfold.
You can be your own worst enemy in your search for abundance or
you can be the best guide you've ever had. The choice is
entirely up to you!
About the author:
Paula Langguth Ryan is the author of "Bounce Back From
Bankruptcy" and "Giving Thanks: The Art of Tithing" and a former
credit counselor, financial editor and ghostwriter for national
finance magazines. Visit her site at
http://www.artofabundance.com for a free monthly Art of
Abundance e-zine or email paularyan-70559@autocontactor.com for
a free e-book of Giving Thanks.
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