A few days ago I watched a movie called Happy. In the movie we are taken to different parts of the world to explore what makes people happy. We were taken on a journey meeting people that seem to be content with what they had, they did not suffer from desires that went beyond what they could afford. This is something that I struggle with and slowly overcoming. I, like many other people, have debt that I am trying to pay off. I recently read Dave Ramsey’s book and was inspired to finally get rid of my debt. I am using the snowball method which Ramsey did not create but after reading his book it made more sense to me. I have been working on decluttering my house and my life with garage sales and have been able to pay off 6 bills that before I was only making minimum payments for months. Let me tell you, it feels great! I still have a ways to go to become debt free but these little victories keep me motivated.
Just like with my eating habits and becoming healthier I make permanent changes. I have to make changes that are sustainable and will not cause me to gain back the 92 lbs that I lost. I have to come to realize that having a lot of material things does not make me happy. I can be content with what I have and if there things that I want I will work hard to pay cash for them and not use credit. This will help me determine if that thing is really worth all the effort. You see, with credit you don’t have to think that hard about whether you really need that thing because it is so easy to get it. But if it takes me time to save the money perhaps after a few months I will realize that I really did not need that thing after all.
Instead of beating yourself up over what you don’t have take time to appreciate what you do have, you might just come to realize that you don’t have it so bad after all.
