Focus, Determination and Belief

What do you really want? What does your future look like? Where are you going? Why?

Answering these questions will set the stage for what you need to do, where you need to focus and what you believe you can do. Without knowing these things you are simply running on a treadmill with no end.

I do love a good hard workout that makes you sweat, pushes you to your limits and makes you work, but truth be told, the shorter they are sometimes the harder they are and the harder you have to push yourself. However, the key is that I know the end. See there are 2 types of workouts that many in CrossFit know, AMRAP (As Many Reps As Possible, within a certain amount of time) and Chipper, which are typically long workouts, large rep counts and continuous movement. The Chippers are fun to a degree because you are moving through continuously but the time is long so you have to maintain that focus for a longer period of time. The AMRAP is short, for instance this week I did 2 back to back 10 minute AMRAPs with some rest in between. You think 10 minutes sounds easy right… not quite, especially when you push yourself to truly do as many as possible.

Ok, so let me bring it back, one is a short goal, one is a long goal. That is where FOCUS comes in, what are you playing for, is this the long game or short game. When we talk investing for retirement, this is a long game. You are going to need to stay focused, make some sacrifices now and keep after it with determination knowing that the goal is to retire comfortably when you are ready.

The problem is that most people cannot think of sacrificing now, they want what they want now. In the age of social media we are constantly bombarded with what others are doing, where they are going or what they are buying and we want things now, unwilling to sacrifice. This can be applied to almost anywhere from fad diets/health plans, get rich quick schemes and so much more.

Outside the long goal of retirement is that short goal, what do I really want now. No matter what the cost is there is a sacrifice, you have to give up something to buy it. You may have to give up something for a couple of months or even a year to buy it. Either way, that is a short term goal. For me, short term goals are some Jeep Parts (those are most common). Honestly, since I started living on a budget I have not done a single Jeep upgrade, outside of presents. Why, because some of my long term goals took precedence, and I was in no way just going to charge it and paying it back later. This is the determination aspect. I’m determined to focus on the other short and long term goals and I am not going to waiver.

Now the final piece comes from belief. You have to believe that you can do this. When my wife and I purchased our first house back in 2002, we did it all the wrong way. Interest only mortgage that was adjustable and not building one bit of equity outside of the down payment and growth. I eventually refinanced that to a 30-year fixed and eventually a 15-year fixed later one. 3 refinances within 10 years… right not the way to do it, but like I said I did it all wrong. I say all that because when we first took out our mortgage there was ZERO expectation that I would ever pay that off until I sold it.

Now we are in our 2nd house and I kind of had the same feeling about this one, 30 year mortgage and probably not going to live here 30 years, so whatever. Fast forward to this year, I refinanced (yes I did it again) to a 15-year mortgage with a focus on paying it off. See this refinance was different. It was not to reduce my payments, it was to reduce my time. I shave 7 years off the mortgage timeframe and if I stay focused, keep my determination and believe, I will have it paid off in about 4 years… Just let that sink in for a minute. 100% equity in my house, with nothing to pay for but property taxes. That is freedom.

The change simply came when I ran the numbers, saw the potential and believed that I could do it. Now it is possible. Until you see what is possible, it is hard to believe.

So what are you goals. They can be financial, work, family, whatever. What sacrifices are you willing to make for them to happen? Do you have the focus and determination you need? What do you need to do to get that? Finally, and most importantly is, do you believe you can?

Put things in perspective and believe you can do it!