My first small change ... and the payoff!

You can change an undesirable habit by committing to change the patterns of how you think. What you consciously think about over and over again can reinforce positive thoughts in your subconscious before you make a bad financial choice. New habits can become a part of you in as few as 40 days. Believe that you can counter and overcome unwanted financial behaviors to develop a stronger spiritual awareness. Start by making one small change at a time.

Mary Anne proposed an experiment. For 40 days, I committed myself to gaining financial serenity by accomplishing one goal in my financial life. I would consciously halt my procrastination and handle incoming personal financial paperwork.

There were days when I regretted, even resented, my commitment to wield my letter opener on a daily basis. Sometimes it meant facing my fears to call others to figure out what I was looking at. The payoff came when my accountant brother called to incredulously say, “not bad,” after he opened my organized income tax package. In previous years, my tax records mess had led to heated phone calls and extensions.

It was a small victory over a bad habit. Then I recalled some of the spiritual values I had unearthed in my clarity exercise: caring for family, independence, personal growth and fulfillment. I was affirming my spiritual truths on my way to financial serenity!