6 Excuses to Shed in This Season of Change

Autumn marks a season of change. Last year, I decided to create a social media community that had nothing to do with financial advising. Yes, so much of my life is involved in keeping track of markets, maintaining relationships with my clients and helping people pave the way to their financial future, but there are other sides of me that many people haven't seen. By day, I am a Spokane financial advisor. I am also a:

• Mother
• Passionate athlete
• Strong and fiery woman who has created a business from the ground up

I wasn't simply handed opportunities as a young entrepreneur, but I always held onto the belief that I could create a better life for myself and my family. Not to say that there haven't been setbacks and failures, or times I wanted to hand in the towel. But over the years, I have learned to take setbacks as learning experiences and opportunities to grow. For me, that community is a way to connect with women and help empower them to chase their best life by overcoming adversity.

One of the keys to my success was tapping into my inner power at an early age. You know that feeling: knowing without a doubt that you are worth it, confidently pursuing your dreams and moving towards your purpose every day.

Those types of feelings are what causes seasons to change in our lives. But success doesn't happen overnight, and progress certainly is not linear.

The first step to harnessing your inner power is to acknowledge what your problem areas are. We all have that shameful, tiny voice in our head that says, "You could be doing this better." For some people, it's taking care of their finances. For others, it's staying physically active, eating healthy or achieving more in their career. Whatever your problem may be, there is a self-defeating tactic lying within that problem, and in order to change it positively, you need to own it and recognize it.

Identify an area of your life that you know you could improve, but haven't yet.

Which One is Your Excuse?

1. The victim excuse: "It's not my fault", and you will find a way to reason away and blame an external reason for why you did not do what you said you would do.
2. The don't care excuse: Are you one of those that think no matter what you do it won't make a difference so therefore why even put the effort out there?
3. The passive excuse: You "want" to take action, but there is always something else you have to do. You are going to run out of time with this one.
4. The past precedent excuse: You haven't been able to do it in the past, so you don't think you can do it now or in the future.
5. The rulebook excuse: Someone or something set the rules in your head that you feel you cannot go against: "It's just not how things are done."
6. The fed up excuse: Whatever it is, regardless of what you could accomplish, you have done enough already so you're not going to do it. This is the "I've had enough" excuse.

Taking Your Power Back

Get out a pen and paper. Studies have shown that describing our goals in written form is strongly associated with goal success, and people who vividly describe or picture their goals are anywhere from 1.2 to 1.4 times more likely to accomplish their goals than people who don't.

Identify your problem and how you have been avoiding it. Read on for some strategies to fire up your goal-setting session:

1. Be realistic: Get clear with what your "why" is.
2. Be courageous, stretch yourself: Ask yourself, what would I do if I knew I couldn't fail? What would bring the most joy and happiness in my life?
3. Write it where you can see it: Keeping visual reminders of your goals where you can see them, such as on a mirror or fridge, keeps them on the forefront of your mind.
4. Use interesting, powerful words that evoke an emotional reaction: What inspires you and gets you excited to wake up in the morning?

The only real power each of us has is choice:

• What do you choose to think about?
• What do you choose to focus on daily?
• What is one small step you can take to move you closer to your dreams?

Even with simple steps, you can start moving from sacristy towards abundance. With intention you can move from competing to cooperation. Focus on what brings you joy and how you can be of service to help others.

Conclusion

Remember that you are not a victim of your circumstances. Instead of saying things are happening TO you; say things are happening FOR you. Challenges are a gift and a part of a season of change. Challenges give you the opportunity to shake up your reality and realize that you are so much more than a person just trying to survive another day, just to do it all again tomorrow.

You are a conscious, deliberate creator of your future. Not only is it possible to live the life of your dreams, it is possible for YOU. One of the worst things a person can do is living a life unfulfilled, or getting to where they wanted to be, only to realize their dreams aren't making them happy.

So what are you doing now to create your best life?

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Content in this material is for general information only and not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual.

All investing involves risk including loss of principal. No strategy assures success or protects against loss.