3 HACKS FOR ELIMINATING STRESS

You said yes when you should have said no. Of course you didn’t need it, but it was on sale. You couldn’t afford to buy it, but the payments seemed manageable at the time. Now you’re drowning in debt. The stress you feel is real.  Here are three hacks to eliminate the stress that comes from overcommitment of time and money.

Clarify Your Yeses.

Once you know your yes, it’s easier to say no. Write down what you really want. Narrow it down to the most important things.  Weed stuff out. Then organize your calendar and your budget to make space for what is most important to you. When your commitments are clearly written in a budget and calendar, it’s easier to say no to lesser things. If you don’t write it down, you will say yes to things you have no business doing or buying.

Set Your Default To No

I hate shopping with a list. I would rather wander around and buy stuff I feel like getting. That means I will spend more than I would like. It also means I will be going back to return things my wife won’t let me keep. Like shopping with a list, having a budget lets you say no to things not on your list.  “Sorry, it’s not in the budget.” If you have already put working out in your calendar, you can say “I have a commitment at that time” to the person who asks you to do something. This is not because you want to blow them off!  It’s because you have already made a commitment to a priority you value. If you don’t organize your life around your priorities, others will.

Run for your life

No, don’t run away from all your responsibilities!   Just get out of debt as fast as you can.  Ask forgiveness.  Renegotiate commitments. Pay off debts. Start with the little ones and it will give you motivation. Tackle the higher interest debts or the commitments that cause you the most stress and pay them off as fast as you can. Freedom is worth it!

There are things you want that God has put in your heart and there are things you bought or took on because you felt like it in the moment. Learn the difference and go after what is truly in your heart.  That is where God lives. Make room for him. Make him your first yes, and everything else will fall into line.