Happy New Year!

When thinking about what to share with you today, I remembered a conversation I had with a company team member awhile back. I’m sharing it with you today, because I know you will benefit greatly from it.

I had a discussion with an amazing and fun young lady who helped me with our social media. (If you haven’t joined us on Facebook yet, click over there to meet this community of awesome, supportive people dedicated to moving their lives forward!)

So, during this conversation, she said to me, “Dani, I just don’t know what to do. I am so stressed-out about this goal I have. I want to pay off $5,000 by March, and then I’ll be totally debt free” (she had already paid off almost $18,000 in the 9 months prior to this conversation… since then, she has paid off a total of $28,000 in 25 months!).

I asked why this goal had her stressed-out, and she told me, “because I’ve crunched the numbers and it’s virtually impossible! I’ve already cut everything down and I’m trying really hard to make it happen. I’ve sold everything I can. Should I get a part-time job? Or should I start a business on the side?”

I then replied, “well, why don’t you move the date? Why do you have such a tight deadline?” She said, “I feel like it won’t be a good story unless I do it that fast.”

So to clarify, I asked, “so basically, you’re telling me you’ve set a goal that is stressing you out, just so you can have a big story to tell?“

You should have seen her…

Her head shrunk down into her shoulders and she got this sheepish look on her face, as I asked, “So if it takes you 18 months to pay off all of your debt, that won’t be a good story?”

Her answer: “Well, no. Because ‘So-and-So’ paid off half a million dollars of debt in 18 months!”

I said, “girlfriend, pull out the measuring stick you’re using to measure your goal! I’m going to break it over your head!!!” You have to look at the motives for your goal. If your motive is to impress other people, you’ve got the wrong goal!

What measuring stick are you using to determine whether or not your progress is impressive? She compared her goal to someone else (who had paid off half a million dollars of debt in 18 months) as HER measuring stick. But in reality, to reach THEIR goal, they sold a house to pay off that debt. This woman didn’t have a house to sell! Her only remaining debt was part of her student loan, before being completely debt-free! She was using a completely unrealistic measuring stick to have a big “WOW” story to impress other people, instead of just focusing on paying off her debt.

If living totally debt-free by paying off ALL your debt – within 18 months – is not impressive to you, I guarantee it’s because you are trying to compete against someone else’s story!

Don’t compete with anyone else! Set a goal and give yourself a timeframe you know you can achieve. Don’t stress yourself out. Work a simple formula to get it done, and then – BAM – you will reach it!

What are your goals? Do you have any adjusting to do? Have you ever stressed yourself out over a goal? I want to hear your stories! Leave your comments below! And if this message has impacted you in any way, go ahead and share it with anyone you think may benefit from it.

In great faith,

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