Achieve Your Financial Goals Using Patience And Persistence
Life experiences have taught me I can accomplish anything I put my mind to. Among other things, I’ve successfully paid off large amounts of debt, and run several marathons. Achieving any difficult goal in life requires two important attributes; patience and persistence.
Let’s begin by defining exactly what they are:
Patience
Definition: An ability or willingness to suppress restlessness or annoyance when confronted with delay.
Patience is a state of mind. A person that exhibits patience does not let obstacles discourage them. The length of time needed, and the difficulty involved in achieving a goal is seen as necessary and potentially even trivial in comparison to the reward.
Persistence
Definition: To remain constant to a purpose, idea, or task in the face of obstacles or discouragement.
Persistence is an attribute of action. A persistent person will do the necessary work needed to achieve a goal even when it’s difficult or it appears the end goal is far away and unobtainable. Persistence will push a person to continue with the belief that eventually the finish line will be reached.
Patience And Persistence in Paying Off Debt
I exercised both patience and persistence in paying off $10,000 of debt last year. In the beginning, the task seemed daunting and the goal very var off. Along the way it became obvious that I was not going to meet my goal of paying off the debt by the end of the year. Instead of becoming discouraged and giving up, I remained patient knowing that I would eventually reach my goal, even if it took longer than I originally anticipated. I allocated money towards my debt each and every month. Even when unexpected expenses popped up I persisted on paying what I could each month knowing that I needed to keep chipping away at the debt.
Patience and Persistence in Reaching Financial Freedom
With my eyes now fixed firmly on the future, I am using patience and persistence again to work towards financial freedom in retirement. Retirement seems far away, and our investments may not seem like they are growing very quickly. But we must remain patient, knowing we are doing the right things to achieve our goals. My wife and I have a budget, and we have an extra amount we wish to contribute towards the future each month. Our son is starting college in the fall, and other expenses will pop up along the way. But we must be persistent in making whatever contribution we can each and every month.
The key to achieving any major goal in life is the achieve the right skills that can be applied to any situation. With a patient state of mind, and persistent action, you can achieve all your financial goals.
Brought to you courtesy of Brock
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Brock is a software engineer by day and personal finance blogger at night. He is a fitness junkie and enjoys grilling and smoking meat. Married with two children, Brock strives to improve his skills as a husband and father, and is always on the lookout to stretch his family’s budget as far as he can.
Congrats on paying off $10k in debt last year! I agree that it takes patience and persistence to achieve any long term goal, financial or otherwise. For me, persistence is the more difficult of the two, because other expenses or other goals come up, but keeping that one goal a priority is key.
Good for you for plugging on even when you knew you weren’t going to meet your original timeline. Patience and persistence are crucial for achieving goals.
Great post! Those are two difficult qualities to master, but the better you get at them, the easier a lot of things in life get!
This is so true! There is only one way to build wealth–buy assets and avoid liabilities. Once your assets start making money, you can finally start living like the rich!