Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is
If you’ve got something that you say you want to do, it’s time to put your money where your mouth is. Aligning your actions with your goals and priorities will get you everywhere.
So step back for a moment and observe your life as if you were an outsider. What would you see if you were someone else looking in? Identify the areas where your current actions (and literally, your money) are not matching up with the things you talk about wanting to do.
If you say that you want to get out of debt, are you sending at least a little bit of extra money each day toward one of your debts? It could even be a single dollar. Most of us can come up with an extra dollar a day. Unless you’re reading this from the library, work, or school, that means you. Or are you doing what I’ve been doing instead — going on a few trips and picking up donuts at the convenience store each day?
If you say you want to get a better job, are you doing something every day to bring you closer to what you want? That could mean applying for jobs, going on information interviews, practicing interview questions, taking a class to learn an applicable skill, tweaking your LinkedIn profile, etc.
Now I’m not saying that your entire life has to be single-mindedly focused on your SMART goals, but things you actually do are your real priorities. If they don’t match up with what’s deep in your heart, stop doing them. Put your money where your mouth is instead, and you’ll be a lot happier for it. No one ever woke up and wished they’d spent more time sitting on their butt watching their dreams pass them by.
The next step is putting your desire into action! Develop a goal out of it and set up a plan to achieve it. Otherwise, it is like saying I wish I could fly!
You hit the nail right on top of the head @krantcents! “The next step is putting your desire into action!”
Yup, “put your money where you mouth is” equals “do the things you say you want to do”.