How To Keep Going When Your Financial Goals Have Lost Steam

I was introduced to the phrase “the messy middle” when I was smack-dab in the middle of writing my first book. The messy middle refers to the part of writing that’s jumbled, seems messy and feels hard. 

I thought about this phrase this week because I’m in the messy middle of some big financial goals. This is the part where you start to loose steam and question your progress. This is the stage where people frequently quit.

Here’s the truth about the “messy middle”. How we think, feel and act in the messy middle determines the rest of our journey. The middle proves our character and resilience. Some people give up in the middle. Hey I get it. The middle is where it gets rough, but rather than give up, get creative. Even if you’re sick and tired of doing what you’re doing change things up. Don’t give up.

How can you make the most of the messy middle easier? 

1.Figure out if you need to scale back.

I would rather have a client work on 1 really good financial habit than to get overwhelmed and throw 5 habits in the trash. When creating new habits sometimes we go overboard. Change can sometimes feel so refreshing at first, but sometimes that doesn’t last. If you’re getting overwhelmed or just feel like what you’re doing isn’t working, go back to the basics for a while, but don’t give up.

2. The middle can be boring, try to make it more interesting and fun.

Have you ever been on a diet and suddenly you’re just sick to death of the same old food? Try to make things a little bit more interesting. If you’re getting sick of your budget, how about you change the scenery? Or start to budgeting with a buddy? Even if you don’t share numbers, get on zoom call together to get some encouragement and creative ideas.

3. Whatever makes you feel like you, do more of that.

You may have heard people talk about “grounding”, grounding isn’t just a woo woo spiritual practice. Grounding allows me to calm the heck down and get back to the best version of me. If you’ve never tried grounding before, try a meditation and see if works for you. 

From one lady in the middle to the next, don’t stop moving, change things up if you have to, just don’t give up!