Words

Oh, the power of language.

Time to take more seriously what Don Miguel Ruiz calls "impeccability" of my words.  An instance in example - the other night I was asked if I had made the cover for a pillow on my bed.  In the past, I might have answered, "No, I bought it."  But, compelled to truthfulness by the act of "waking up" to my finances, I quipped instead, "No, I purchased it on credit."  Though not quite as satisfying a statement, it's honest.  How often have I said "I bought it..." when really I'd charged?  Can I really say I own it if I still pay for it everyday?  Nope.  Not honestly.  Not with impeccability.

Even in conversations with my son a shift in wording about money is occurring.  When he asked to  stop at Dutch Bros for hot chocolate yesterday, I responded not with my customary "Sure!  I could use a coffee too!" and not with "Nope, we're trying to save money."

Oh, no.

Surprising myself, I stated instead, "We're being smart with our money these days.  Let's make some hot chocolate at home, instead."    Again, this was not as satisfying as finding the next drive-thru java joint.  But honestly, I can't use a coffee.  There's no use spending $3.50 for a mocha when I've got only $70.00 budgeted for food this week.  And we're not TRYING to save money...we ARE saving money.  It's how we're making money work for us rather than work us. It's an active choice...one mocha at a time.

Saying something like, "I've got debt," or "I'm really struggling with  money right now,"  those statements wield a ton of power.  But, to me, "I've got debt" sounds a lot like "I've got a dog."  Now, having a dog's real nice.  Having debt is not.  Though debt might be waiting for me when I get home, and it might curl up with me at night in bed,  it is nothing I want to feed.  It's not welcome. And it's certainly not something I want to keep around.   I'm no longer going to feed this debt.  It needs to do the whole tail between the legs bit and sulk away.

"I'm really struggling with money" rings curiously of waging a losing battle.  No thanks; I'm in it to win it.  Contrastingly, statements like, "I'm paying down debt," and "I'm creating a foundation of prosperity" have more active, positive repercussions.  There's still acceptance of responsibility, but that sense of "poor me" is absent.   The way I understand it, the brain can hold on to new thoughts for fleeting seconds.  Why not choose the powerfully positive rather than the solemnly static/sadistic/somber/slothly?

A friend once lambasted me for placing so much stock in "positivity." (I'm known in some parts as the "What you think about, you bring about" Gal.   He said, "Angela, bless your angel baby heart, there may, in fact, be a bright side to everything, but that doesn't mean the bad stuff gets fixed...and it doesn't go away just 'cuz you're smilin'."  (Okay, he didn't say the "angel baby heart" part, but the sentiment of that "quotation" is true.)

It gave me pause.

Since, I've endeavored  to DO something about the stuff  in my way so that I'm NOT just some smiling dolt watching a tsunami wash in.  Even if I'm swimming in debt right now, I've got my board, I'm ready to paddle and I'll catch the next wave to shore.  Rather than swim, I'll surf, thank you.

Words are powerful.  And so is action.  When both are targeting a positive outcome, good things happen.

The truth is a large percentage of stuff in my home has been charged on credit.  That fact is a part of every choice I make all day - from mochas to what's for dinner.  Still, how I think about this and what I do about it, and how I talk about...all those things make becoming debt-free a realistic goal.  Bless my angel baby heart.