The $1,000 Plan: Day Thirty-Two

It is Day Thirty-Two of The $1,000 Plan and today I want to look at the care we need to take to keep discouragement at bay. It is super tough to keep persevering when your breakthrough seems to be so far off. Discouragement can creep in and take up residence and it can be very hard to shake off.

Discouragement can lead to depression. It is even harder to shake of depression once it takes hold and it really can floor you on so many levels. Depression can floor you literally and figuratively. When it starts to actually mess with you on a chemical level, it can indeed make you bed-ridden.

With the three steps forward, two steps backward experience at present, of working towards saving $1,000 within 4 - 6 weeks, I started to struggle this morning with discouragement. The winter weather has been extra cold and gloomy these past few days and that hasn't helped on the mood front much either.

Discouragement hit me personally hard this morning. I quickly had to face straight on how much I need to keep on with activities that keep me on my feet and keep me literally moving, in order to to counteract discouragement wanting to sweep in and knock me over.

There was a paramount need for me to keep myself up on my feet, and to keep myself busy and therefore productive, as that was going to be the key to help me ride out this looming literal and figurative darkness, and the potential for it all to rob me of precious time, energy and personal endeavour to achieve my goal.

We have to work out our goals, step by step, day by day, there simply is no other way. Being productive works it out into reality. It makes it come to be. It makes it happen. It brings what we desire to fruition.

Yes, I could indeed be robbed by letting discouragement, depression, a negative mindset sweep in and take over the reins and led me on a totally different path. However, what a complete and utter waste of time, energy and actual money that would prove to be!


To counteract how I was starting to feel, I knew I had to get myself on my feet and literally moving. Sitting having a pity party was NOT going to make my goal come to fruition. Not one tiny, minute bit! I chose instead to put on my warmest slippers and got on with doing some biscuit baking... and everyone loves some homemade biscuits, don't they!

When discouragement turns up at your door, you need to shut that door firmly and securely and go seek out what will bless you instead (a tray or two of biscuits was the blessing that came my way today!) When discouragement turns up to seep into our thinking, we need to seek out doing that which will keep us busy and keep us productive. Our minds are less likely to go down a dark and gloomy path if they are engaged in tasks that keep the focus on what is real, and present, and needing some significant attention in the moment.

We need to know where we want to go, what we want to achieve and hang in there with every ounce of our willpower.  We need to keep working out, and working at, that which is positive and constructive. We need to go about doing practical things that, step by step, add up to the change coming to fruition. We have to keep our eye on the prize and not let our gaze be distracted or shifted one millimetre. Keep the focus on the focus!

If we keep going, if we keep putting one foot in front of the other, step by step, we will achieve everything that pertains to our dream, our vision, our goal. We just have to keep going with keeping on going!

Don't give up when it hurts. Don't give up when you just don't know if you are going to get there. Keep going. One foot in front of the other, step by step. Keep going!

When you experience a hiccup, or your belief in your success is shaken, just keep going. When something comes out of the blue (like a washing machine suddenly breaking down, such was the case in our household last week), do what is needed and then just regroup and get back on to making your financial goal happen.

Don't let excuses rob you of your goal being mastered. Don't. You have to keep on with keeping on until what you want comes to be. You have to keep on with making the result come and the outcome work out. You have to keep going for longer than you may have thought, but you just have to keep going.

Don't play the role of naysayer within your own head. Remember to guard your thoughts and be wise about when negative thinking has decided to try and take over the throne of your mind again. Call a negative mindset out and send it firmly packing. Keep on with keeping on!

If you haven't achieved your goal yet, you are just not quite there yet. Just keep going!

Put those walking/tramping/marching boots on again inside your mind, as you regroup your thoughts to set the sails once again towards a constructive, positive destination, and then, stride out towards your goal as before! You have got this! It IS going to be worth it.

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