Blogging to Mindfully Move Mountains

When I first began this blog, I wanted to focus on getting out of debt and that was all well and good. I was motivated, passionate, beyond ready to document my progress, share my goals with the world. As I began exceeding my own expectations and paying down debts faster than I realized I could, my goals shifted and became much more focused. I began thinking about bigger and better goals. I no longer wanted to just pay off debt, but to also build wealth, build an abundance of health, money, knowledge, and peaceful living. The shift came pretty quickly in fact. It wasn’t like a gradual change in thought but instead was like a flash of light and I was completely off and running! I never actually prepared myself for the possibility of paying off my debts faster than I anticipated. I never actually thought that I might be able to pay off an entire loan balance of $14,000 in less than a year! And when that happened, actually while it was happening, something stirred inside of me. I was acutely aware of what was happening and I felt my own willpower drive me to shift my focus from paying off debt to getting free! I was no longer paying debts, but I was instead paying my way to freedom! I was paying my way to peace. I was paying my way to joy. And then my focus shifted yet again! I began thinking about money in its physical state and in a very literal sense. Money is money. Money is NOT joy. Money is NOT freedom. Money is NOT peace. So if I can’t use money to buy these things, then what can I use money for? And more importantly, what can’t I use money for? 

Obviously, the answer to these two questions are pretty clear. You cannot use money to buy feelings or states of mind. But you can use money to buy things and stuff to support or symbolize your feelings and/or states of mind. Money only has value because we say it has value. The moment someone says money holds no value for them, is the moment money ceases to hold value. I placed very little value on money prior to my journey to getting out of debt. I spent money as if it was an ever-renewing resource. And in a way, it was for me, an ever-renewing resource, but only in the form of paychecks. I had to work for it. I had to work hard for it. I had to sacrifice time spent with my children for it. I had to sacrifice lying in the sun for it. I had to sacrifice joy for it. Right? 

Perhaps, I didn’t have to do these things, but at the time, I thought I had to. I thought “how will I pay for the things I want, without making money to buy those things? But of course, the answer to this seemingly large problem was within me all along! Money cannot buy what we all want! Because what we want is a state of mind– JOY is all that we want, all that we ever wanted, all that we ever will want! When I stopped working for paychecks, I realized that I no longer had to place value on money in the same way I had before. I was free from that burden for a time. And then I was able to look upon my money life and see that there were still problems that needed resolving. The debt needed to go away. It was simple really. It stood in the way of my joy and my freedom and needed to be moved away from me. I needed the freedom of peace. 

That feeling of freedom, peace and acceptance for what is, is what my children have. It’s how all children live. They accept and move forward, soak up knowledge and appreciate all that is without even thinking about it. They love everyone. They love everything. They are love. It is this childhood state of mind that we all want to have back. It is a part of why we love children so much. It is why we envy their ability to be uninhibited.

Yes, the money is all well and good. It’s a great tool and in a lot of instances, a very necessary tool for those who want to exact change in this world. But it is not the most important tool. Our most important and most powerful tool is our own mind! What we think will happen most certainly will happen. What we think is the right answer is most certainly the right answer. This blog is the answer to my problem of debt. I don’t know how yet, but I know that it is because my passion lies within these words. Wherever your passion lies dormant is where you too will find your wealth.

So, as I think about where this blog began and where it is going now, I realize that so much has changed about my thinking, my life, my outlook. I thought getting out of debt was my ultimate goal. But once I began pursuing that goal, I quickly realized that it was never the goal. The goal has always been to be happy. Most people think that money makes them unhappy or happy. But in reality, money cannot do this. Money cannot “do” anything. Money is money. What makes us unhappy is us! What made me unhappy, trapped, stressed, worrisome, fearful, stagnant--was me! Not money. Not my debt. Me. When I began to truly see this fact, I realized how much control I had over my own actions, over my money, and over my entire life. 

Sure, I cannot literally move mountains. But, I can certainly imagine myself moving a mountain every day, all day long and while I imagine it, I write this blog post, I run my miles, I eat my vegetables, I sing to my kids, I read books, I smile to my neighbors, I pick up garbage off the street, I inspire, I love...until mountains move through my words, my love, my money, my song, my mind, my FEELINGS! This is strength, effort, conviction and motivation. We can truly move mountains with our minds and that is the truest power of all! Your greatest gift! This blog moves mountains!

So, what started out as a blog to help people like me pay debt away is in all actuality a blog to move your mountain. So instead of simply giving you money tips (though it’s fun, informative and necessary to learn), I want to inspire you to pursue freedom, to find your personal power, to unlock your potential for greatness, happiness and peace. To be your best self and live your best life. This is not a lofty goal. You are already alive! You are already living! You already have a beautiful mind! All you have to do now is use it to move a mountain in your daily living. This takes practice, I know. I am practicing it everyday. The more you practice living your best life, the less practice you need to live in the best way. 

Paying debt has become a simple task for me. I would have never been able to make that statement had I not switched my focus to the real goal of my life! The debt will disappear. Money will come and go, but happiness can be with me forever if I let it. This blog is a part of that happiness for as long as I let it. Isn’t it funny how life works? Isn’t it funny how one day money can mean so much and the next it can mean absolutely nothing? Isn’t it amazing that we can move mountains?