A Personal Story – Change Your Mindset, Change Your Life

During the first few years of our marriage, my wife Christian and I experienced some very difficult financial hardships, which dictated the state of our mindset. I had a startup business that was drowning and we were struggling to make ends meet. We were in a very deep, dark financial hole and we couldn’t see any way out. The more we tried, the deeper we went. Then, one day the unthinkable happened—the electricity got turned off for non-payment.

That day I had to take a wash-up in the sink with a freezing cold gallon of water from the refrigerator. I sat on the floor in front of the bathtub and cried like a baby. I screamed up to God and asked Him why? I asked Him was that all He had for us; was that all that life had to offer? Deep down inside, I knew the answer was no, and that was all the shimmer of hope I needed. From that day forward, I made up in my mind that our lights would never be turned off again. I made up in my mind that I would do everything within my power to change all of the financial problems we faced. And, I did. Of course it wasn’t overnight because the problems weren’t created overnight. But, the key is: I made my mind up that we wouldn’t struggle anymore. We changed our perspective about our problems. Instead of seeing them as problems, we used them as stepping stones to financial freedom. Instead of allowing them to kill us, we allowed them to motivate us.

[ctt title=”When you change your perspective about problems, your whole life will change. That is the only way to overcome your problems.” tweet=”When you change your perspective about problems, your whole life will change. That is the only way to overcome your problems. @cortneyssargent” coverup=”02Pbq”]

Whether the problem is with your personal finances, marriage, family, business, job or a combination, you change the trajectory of your life. It doesn’t matter how big your problems are; what matters is what you choose to do about the problem. Life is going to happen every single day and I promise you that it won’t all be nice. Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% what you do about it. Instead of focusing on the 10%, focus on the 90%.

At the end of the day, the choice is yours. Will you choose to sit back and dwell in self-pity and apathy, or will you choose to step up and take your life back? Make life worth living, instead of living by default.

Embracing Change Will Revolutionize Your Life

If you’re not happy and don’t have joy in life, you can change that. If you don’t like your situation, you have the power to change your situation. But, you can’t change your situation if you don’t know what the reality of the situation is.

I was recently talking about some issues that plague the black community and I submitted that the problem isn’t really the problem; the real problem is the mindset. He followed up by asking me a very good question: how do you think people in the Black community can change their mindset?

Well the answer is simple, but the application isn’t. In order for anyone of any race to change their mindset or lifestyle, they must be INSPIRED and INFORMED. When someone is inspired to do something, it ignites something on the inside of them that makes them want to do different than what they’ve previously done. What I want to talk about today is the second part of that solution- being informed.

Being informed is the first step to real, lasting change. You can change your mindset, your money, living situation and entire life – but it all starts with being informed. You may still be living the same lifestyle as you were 5 years ago because you haven’t been informed about anything different.
I can’t explain this in depth like I’d like to right now, but I will at a later date. For now, take this for example: If you go to the doctor he’s going to ask what’s wrong. When you tell him that you’re hurting, he’s going to ask where. Why does he ask questions? Because he can’t help you if you don’t INFORM him of what’s specifically wrong with you. If you don’t tell him where you’re hurting, he cannot help you. Of course, he can guess, but that will relegate him to giving you solutions to problems that don’t exist. And, that’s what many people do: try to fix stuff that’s not broken.

Instead of running from the issue, address it head on by acknowledging it and applying a solution. Quit putting band-aids on your wounds. Instead, tell THE doctor what’s wrong so He can apply the correct solution to your ailment.

Even though you may not like your current situation, whether it is your finances, business, church, home, school, or marriage, you need to accept it for what it is. That’s the first step to making it better. How can you get out of debt if you have no idea of what’s on your credit report? You can’t. How can you become financially free if you never answer the creditors phone calls? You can’t. How can you have a better marriage if you don’t sit down and converse with your spouse? You can’t.

Here’s my final piece of advice on this Motivational Monday: Don’t be afraid to face the truth. And, sometimes, that truth may not be as bad as you’re making it out to be. But, there’s only one way to find out…