The Power Of Momentum

Today was kind of a sad day as I watched my beloved Seattle Seahawks end their season. Although I will always remain a Seahawk fan, today's game was really tough to watch. Our team just never really got it going and the Chicago Bears took control from the beginning. The score at halftime was 21-0 in favor of the Bears, who had all the momentum in the game and never really let it go. One thing I've learned from many years of watching football is that momentum plays a HUGE part in determining the winner of any given game. It's what enables the underdog to pull off upsets on some days and what lets the favorite run away with victories on other occasions. Momentum is a powerful force on the gridiron and I've found that it's just as powerful in life!

I believe momentum is essential for succeeding in the debt free journey. It can be triggered a number of ways. It doesn't have to be a huge event or unbelievable experience, it could be little things that pick up steam as time goes on. I can recall many things during my journey that kept the momentum going. Whether it was a major milestone like paying off an entire credit card balance or a small triumph like staying on budget for 2 weeks in a row, all of those things kept the momentum going. And as things started coming together, certain things became easier. Budgeting/Planning became second nature, staying on budget became the norm, paying off debts came much faster, etc... I didn't think twice about things that were weird to me at first (i.e. I started using cash only like I had always been doing it, I said no to buying things when I couldn't truly afford them). I guess you can equate the experience to fastening your seat belt. I feel naked if I'm in a car without a seat belt now but I remember when I thought it was a hassle to buckle up every single time. I guess you can say that I've basically created habits associated with enabling the debt free journey. These are the kind of habits you want to be hooked on and they are all established with the power of momentum.

Another thing that I have found to be true is that momentum brings "more of the same". This is the same theory that is the basis of phrases like "the rich get richer, good things come to good people". Well, I think you can add "debt free stuff comes to those who pursue the debt free journey". Two things that have happened to me recently remind me of this message. A couple of days ago, I was debating whether or not to order more contacts (I wear daily contacts and am just about to run out). I was thinking that I should maybe wait till next month so I could incorporate it into the new budget. So, I called my eye doctor to see how much it would cost and to my delight they told me that it was free because my insurance renewed for the new calendar year. Sweet! That's a nice surprise! And then today, I was trying to plan a cool date night for my wife and I since we haven't really went "all out" for a long while. I remember the other night as we were walking out of Bellevue Square, she mentioned that it would be awesome if we could stay the night at the Westin (we love their heavenly beds). I also remember saying to her that we would probably have to save for a little while to get a room there and we left it at that. Well, today I just randomly searched the Westin web site to see just how much the rooms would cost. And to my awesome surprise, my old hotel awards program had a balance of 10,050 points. It just so happens that the Westin we were eyeing in Bellevue cost 10,000 points to reserve for one night. Woo Hoo! So, we'll be spending our Valentine's Date Night in comfortable luxury! These are just 2 examples that I have experienced recently that truly exemplify how the debt free momentum turns into good things. This journey hasn't just turned around our family's finances, it's transformed our lives. I look forward to continuing the debt free journey and witnessing all of the positive impacts that come along with it!