I get frustrated with my finances because I want a quick fix to my student loans and my whole life.
I think of all the work I’m doing for my businesses, remember that most of the money I earn will go towards paying off my loans, wonder what the hell I’m doing with my life and get into victim mode.
My frustration stems from my refusal to face reality as it is.
I want a different financial reality because I hate the one I have right now even though I consistently choose it.
Feeling frustrated about debt leaves you feeling DISEMPOWERED
I feel disempowered and turn myself into a victim, which stops me from thinking pro-actively and taking constructive financial action.
According to the frustration-aggression principle, frustration turns to aggression or anger when people are prevented from achieving their goals.
People will show aggression towards others when the object of their aggression is not available.
Dissatisfaction leads to frustration, which leads to antisocial behaviour such as theft, withholding output and self-sabotage in the work place.
So whenever we’re frustrated about money we more likely to steal, lower our productivity and self-sabotage all of which leads to increased debt and decreased savings and investments.
How to stop being frustrated about money
1. Get in touch with the reality of your finances
I get frustrated because I refuse to deal with the reality of my bank account.
I want to go traveling, spend my life on some beach in Thailand and still have financial freedom.
But to get there I have to be willing to do the work and even build up some savings and investments.
I have to be a grown up and listen to my publicist and spend the next few months doing TV interviews, radio interviews, putting together an online course, speaking and blogging about the work I do.
Every time I choose to stay in one place and work to build my brand and my companies, I choose a different financial reality and a different future.
2. Become a person of unlimited self-esteem
I get frustrated about my finances when I believe my debt is bigger than me.
On the days when I believe all my efforts will pay off, I’ll pay off this debt and build a solid company, I’m strangely at peace and highly productive and profitable (shock!).
3. Practice persistence
I quit my company at least once a month, out of sheer frustration but I have to dig deep inside me to find persistence and keep going.
Napolean Hill in his book “Think and Grow Rich” tells us how to cultivate persistence: have a definite purpose, cultivate a burning desire to achieve your goals, believe in yourself, have definite plans and constantly take action.
4. Find your tribe and build a fan club
The only reason why I’m still an entrepreneur and haven’t given up on my dream of becoming debt free is because I have a support system of friends and family.
It’s up to you to create your own fan club to keep you focused on your financial goals.
5. Focus on being
Instead of focusing on a goal - like paying off your car, choose to be someone who is fiscally responsible.
When you’re being, you’re constantly living your mission and your goal permeates your life.
6. Stop comparing yourself to others
There was once a bamboo tree that took 7 years to grow above ground. In those 7 years, the roots of the tree were slowly growing below the ground and digging deep into the earth.
After 7 years the tree shot up in a matter of months to become the tallest and strongest tree in the forest.
The moral of this story is that everyone has a different journey, for some people it takes longer than others to get where they’re going.
Focus on being the best you, you can be and define success for yourself.
7. Keep a budget and automate expenses
Sticking to a budget lowers my frustration immensely, because I eliminate bad surprises.
I know exactly what expenses to expect at the end of each month even when I buy tickets to foreign countries and get overdraft fees (too many to count).
Frustration isn’t a pleasant emotion but it’s an emotion we feel whenever we take action to reach our goals, which lets us know that we’re on the court playing the game of life.
How do you deal with frustration about money?
Let me know in the comments section below