When Push Comes To Shove

If I asked you to save up an extra $10,000 this year you might say it’s impossible. But if you had to come up with an extra $10,000 or face some terrible doom, I bet you’d come up with a way. We all would.

That’s because sometimes what seems impossible is actually just something very difficult. When our feet are to the fire we can generally do much more of what we previously felt we couldn’t.

When the consequences, good or bad, are real, our analysis of the tradeoffs – the sacrifices, the risk, the urgency – transform our motivation to act in new ways, to learn new skills, to take new risks.

This truth makes a good thought exercise to shake us out of our stuck inertia and get in motion again, to gain momentum in a positive direction.

For example, if you’re feeling pinched for money to get necessary refinishings done on your house, save adequately for retirement, or any other need stressing you out, try a reframe.

What is actually needed to accomplish this goal? If you had no choice but to make that happen (or face the certain doom scenario), what could you do?

Brainstorm all the possibilities of what you possibly could do if you must achieve the goal in mind. You might need to make certain cuts, educate yourself on a new topic, reach out for someone’s help, hustle harder, or leverage existing resources more wisely. The possibilities are endless.

Then review the list. It’s time to pick some that you’re going to do anyway, even if only under force of a fictional consequence. It’s time to light a fire and get progress moving.

The rest of the list could be ranked to give you additional levers that in some reality, could be pulled.

Not only will you gain new clarity on what actions you could and should be taking, but you’ll also have some, perhaps less desirable and more extreme, ideas that will either give you further options – or further motivation to make the first ones work so you don’t need to resort to harder choices.

Creating our dreams and accomplishing our goals are not the default in life. The default is entropy and poverty.

Expenses will always expand to consume all money. Dreams and goals require work, active energy to direct ourselves away from entropy and poverty.

They might require greater sacrifice, tougher decisions, or taking risks to put yourself out there or set boundaries. Usually success requires a little of all of that, for keeping expenses under control and increasing your income potential.

It’s time to get serious about what you’re capable of, what you owe yourself, your family, and the world.

What will your dreams take?

It’s time to put your feet to the fire and see what’s possible.