by David Wilding
The number one reason people don’t get out of debt is
they don’t try. This may apply to you. You want to, but never
seem to do it. You put it off for whatever reason.
Sometimes, you want to wait for your life to be just right
before you make the attempt. You tell yourself, when I get the
new job, when I receive the next promotion, or when I get my
next raise, I’ll go to work on my debt.
Perhaps you are waiting for some artificially set date. You tell
yourself the first of the year will be a good time to start or
when you get back from vacation. Whenever it is, it is always in
the future.
I call this “perfect situation procrastinating.”. This allows
you to put off any action, while you wait for your situation to
be perfect. It reminds me of a story I read the other day about
a mother registering her daughter for kindergarten.
The mother, a school teacher, took her daughter to register for
kindergarten. They were greeted by the kindergarten teacher near
a table outside the room. On the table she had some paper and
crayons. The mother stood back while the teacher did, what the
mother recognized as, a simple screening of her daughter’s
abilities.
The teacher asked the child to choose her favorite color crayon
and write her name on one of the pieces of paper. The mother
hovering in the background, knew her daughter could not only
spell her name, but the names of all her family members. She was
pleased her daughter would do so well.
However the child just stood and stared at the crayons. The
teacher again asked her to choose her favorite color and write
her name. The child remained still. Her mother knew she could do
this but stayed back to allow the teacher to handle it. The
teacher then put her arm around the girl and told her it was all
right, she would learn to write her name during the school year.
As the little girl and mother rode home the mother asked her why
she didn’t write her name. Her daughter responded, “She asked me
to write my name with my favorite color and there was no pink
crayon.”. The little girl, very capable of doing what was asked
of her, didn’t do it because the situation was not perfect. Many
times we are the same way.
As you get ready to tackle your debt, do that of which you are
capable, not waiting for the perfect situation. While it is
important to have a plan, it is more important to just begin. A
plan may be adjusted as you go, but if you continually adjust
your start date, you will never put your plan into action. So,
start now, don’t wait for your pink crayon.
About the author:
David Wilding has for the past ten years worked with groups and
individuals to help get rid of their debt. Visit his website for
more ideas, tools, and strategies to help reduce your debt.
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