We Get Used to it - that's the problem

The idea that we get used to it - anything at all - is fundamentally why many of us fail to perform, fail to achieve, and continue to sink into a lower state of being.

We've all done it at one time or another. The simple act of staying in bed when we had something planned for the morning is a good example of this backsliding that we do.

When I look around my house, there are many things that could be updated, renovated, improved, modified or built onto.

Instead, I make other things a priority and I get used to the way things are - functional but not fancy or nearly as comfortable and attractive as I would like them to be.

Let me give you a classic example. There is a slow leak in one of your car tires. Instead of fixing it, you simply keep adding air every week or so. You get used to it as part of driving your car instead of fixing it.

This can be a problem when it comes to our home or car, but it can be disastrous when it comes to our personal, work and financial life. It's tantamount to surrendering your life.

How many people are stuck in a bad environment at work with meager pay? Plenty, because they convince themselves that they have to put up with it.

We don't have to.

How many people on public assistance sit back and enjoy the seemingly "free income" for as long as they can? I've known plenty personally. Relaxing at home while those "sittin' at home checks" come each month is easy to do. We get used to it.

We don't have to, and we shouldn't.

Some people may think I'm talking about "taking the easy way." Not really. Why do something in the difficult way when you can do it easier. That makes sense to me.

Others may think I'm talking about "settling" for something. Again, not really. Settling is a form of compromise, and often a compromise is exactly what we need to make headway.

What I'm talking about is retreat, capitulation, surrender - it's giving up a self-directed life for one that is directed by others. A life where you turn in your "badge" as a victor and put on the "uniform" of victim.

It doesn't have to be that way. If we "get used to it," then we accept the culture of "poor me" and turn our backs on achievement and living our own life the way we want to. We get what we deserve if we take this path.

And, the rest of us get what we deserve if we put up with it.

If getting used to things describes you, then make up your mind whether your life is yours or someone else's, and then act accordingly. Get your "act together" and lead a life of success.

If you know of someone who is giving up on themselves, you can lend a hand, but do not enable them to be irresponsible. They might be surrendering, but you don't have to be sucked down there with them.

Remember the life saving advice when a person is drowning - reach out to them with a floating object or a rope or a stick, but never let them get a hold of you. If you do, then it's likely that they'll pull you down with them - out of sheer instinct of survival.

Whenever you recognize someone who is in a bad situation, even yourself, always consider how it occurred. Remember, if we get used to it, we're condoning "it," encouraging "it," and teaching "it" how to treat us.

Done with We Get Used to it, back to Mindset of Frugality