A whole presidential campaign was built on it; organizations are constantly undergoing it; and many people want and need it.
In a word, it’s change.
It’s easy to talk about and desire, but why is it so difficult to change our finances?
Why Change Is Hard?
At the core of our being most of us realize that not everything is right with us – and we need to change. Yet, most of us who are honest enough to admit will say it’s so hard to do.
Even though we know we need it oftentimes, many of us fear change, we don’t like to do it because it gets us out of our comfort zones and stretches us to break bad habits or certain ways of handling things.
It’s hard because it takes work! 
What is a Change Agent
According to wikianswers – a change agent is:
“an event, organization, material thing or, more usually, a person that acts as a catalyst for change. In business terms, a change agent is a person chosen to bring about organizational change.”
A financial change agent is a catalyst – someone who invokes change – a person who makes a difference when it comes to their money!
Perhaps you’ve had enough with your personal finance situation and you want to stop spending more than you make, pay down debt and get yourself in a position to give and save more…it’s time to become a change agent!
How to Become A Financial Change Agent
So how do you actually become a change agent? Here’s some practical guidelines to help:
1. Humbly admit you need change
Why do we often wait until things are so desperately bad to admit that we need to change?
Instead, if we would just humbly acknowledge that something is wrong early enough we could do so much to ward off most of the damage that’s being done to our personal finances.
A catalyst for change recognizes that there is a need to change and is not afraid to admit and seek an alternative direction.
2. Throw off the excuses
If you really want to change, get rid of excuses. This is key to becoming a change agent. Allow nothing to stand in your way.
I’m reminded of a verse in the Bible that talks about persevering through this life and it says to throw off every weight (Hebrews 12:1). Everything that hinders you, should be tossed aside. Get rid of the excuses and get focused.
3. Focus your efforts with intensity
You need to be laser focused in your efforts to change. Gazelle like intensity is the way Dave Ramsey puts it when referring to getting out of debt.
For an example and some motivation, look to my friend Matt Jabs over at Debt Free Adventure, who has proclaimed often that he and his wife WILL FIGHT to reach financial goals they’ve set before them!
4. Prepare mentally for the ups and downs
Look, no one said breaking bad money habits, or getting rid of debt or altering your lifestyle is going to be easy.
The fact is it will be hard - but it’s worth it. Any worthy goal is hard and requires hard work and with that comes peaks and valleys.
There will be days you don’t feel like dealing with your situation any more, or days you’d rather go on a spending splurge than have the discipline to say no.
Be prepared that those days will come – that way when they do you can handle them correctly and not fall back into the old way of doing things.
How about you?
What are some ways you’ve become a change agent? What has your battle been like to overcome areas in your life that needed altering?
5 Bible Verses About Finances That Will Change Your Life
5 Ways to Get Fit on a Budget
IRA Withdrawal Rules – When Can You Withdraw Your IRA?
Well Paying Careers: 30 Jobs That Pay $30 Per Hour
10 Money-Saving Tips to Help You Stash $10,000!
Should You Give Money to a Homeless Person?
7 Most Important Habits That Rich People Use to Build Wealth
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
I’ve always felt that inertia is the greatest force in life. If you think about it, most of the reason things don’t change for the better is because we feel some inherent need to defend the status quo. There’s a preference for keeping what we have, even if it’s dysfunctional, to trying something new and risk losing the flawed thing or behavior that we have. It’s the old saying, “the devil that you know is better than the one you don’t”.
That thinking is pervasive in organizations and cultures as well. It seems to be part of our programinng, and it often seems we’re more satisfied discussing change (which sounds as if we’re on the cutting edge) to actually bringing it about.
Mechanically it would help if we could implement at least small changes immediately after declaring a need for change. Until we put change into action, it’s just another word that sounds good coming out of our mouths.
.-= Kevin@OutOfYourRut´s last blog ..Fast Track to Frequent Flyer Miles =-.
Judging from my own life, I’d say #2 is probably the most difficult to overcome. It’s so easy to sit back and come up with good (or lame) excuses to keep the status quo.
.-= Matt SF´s last blog ..Debt Collector Scare Tactics Straight Out of Goodfellas =-.
Jason,
Thanks for the great post. I’ve been needing to make some changes lately and hopefully this post will be just the motivation I need.
.-= Craig Ford´s last blog ..How Much Should You Pay For a Wedding? =-.
I believe it was the humble yet powerful Jedi Master Yoda who said, “Do or do not, there is no try.”
Although it is difficult to get inertia on our side, it is high time we “just do it.”
Society has trained us to be lackidazical and lazy… but it is time for us to reemerge as an agent for change in our own lives and the lives of those we love.
Solid post Jason, thanks.
.-= Matt Jabs´s last blog ..Debt Help | Buy New or Used Car? =-.
@Kevin – Good point about small changes. I think if we could build momentum with that and think of every small change as another spin of the fly wheel, eventually we’ll have enough momentum to keep making bigger and bigger changes.
.-= Jason´s last blog ..Why You’re Off Track for Your Retirement (And What to Do About It) =-.
Matt and Matt, getting rid of excuses and getting focused on change is huge. It’s so easy to make those excuses and come up with reason after reason why we can’t change our finances (time, too much work, don’t know where to start etc). As Jabs said, it’s high time to just do it!
.-= Jason´s last blog ..Does Your Money Define You? =-.
{ 2 trackbacks }