Developing A Burning Desire to Improve Your Finances-Part II-Key Traits of Success

Part of developing a strong or burning desire to improve your finances, as I discussed yesterday, involves determining your motivation for achieving your financial goals. Another part of the equation in achieving your financial goals is employing key principles or traits for achieving these goals. Taking well known keys of success and applying them to your finances can help you achieve your goals. By implementing them, they can become regular habits and help you keep your desire to achieve the financial life you want very strong.

Key Traits for Achieving Your Financial Goals

Belief- Do you believe that you can achieve the financial situation that you want? The lack of belief can be very limiting to our behavior. If you don’t believe you can do something, it is likely you will put very little effort into it, and you may not even try. If you do not believe you can swim across a river or stream, would you even jump in the water?
Persistence- Being persistent in achieving goals means being repetitive with your actions. Making smart money decisions on a daily basis, paying off debt on a regular basis, and investing through ups and downs in the stock market are all examples of being persistent with taking positive steps to improve your finances.

Taking Action-You can wish for something all you want, but it takes action to actually achieve a goal. Just wanting to be financially independent is not enough. You must take positive steps in the right direction to arrive at your destination.

Visualization- Do you have a clear picture of what your goals look like? Whether it is a $0 credit card balance, seeing you child graduate from college, or a retirement home on a lake, visualizing these goals on a regular basis can keep them fresh in your mind and give you a clear picture of the goal you are trying to achieve.

Self-Discipline- Doing those things you know will improve your personal finances, even when you’d rather be watching TV, hanging out with friends, or doing something else takes self-discipline. Forcing yourself to focus on your financial situation, and seeing the results, will help increase your desire.

Refusal to Give Up- Don’t let setbacks or failures in achieving your goals cause you to quit or give up. The fact that you raided your emergency fund for $1k for car repairs will make little difference on whether you achieve your goal for 20 years from now, as long as you continue along the right path when it comes to your finances. Once you quit, you will never achieve your goals.