What you believe about the future affects the way you live now. This works on the positive side of life, and the negative side.
Positive: I believe I will finish my marathon in under 4 hours. I am training for my marathon at the 3:50/hour pace.
Negative: I believe that I am incapable of losing weight and getting into shape. I will stay on the couch and eat Nutella by the truckload.
Positive: I believe that I will be able to retire and live comfortably on my investments. I invest $400 a month into an IRA.
Negative: I believe that it will be too hard and take too long to get out of debt. I have no plans to get out of debt.
Go back and read each one again. This time read the second sentence first and the first sentence second. Interesting. When read backwards each one becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
What do you believe about your future? Are your current actions taking you towards that future? 99% of the time the answer will be yes.
Your thoughts, examples, and opinions are welcomed below in the comments section.
-Derek
In 2010, I was trucking along in life, earning a steady, decent-sized paycheck and had managed to save up a small pile of beans. My net worth was approaching six figures and I was only 30. Debt free and loving it I had a comfortable and reliable financial buffer between myself and the Bad Things in Life. As if there is such a thing as a financial buffer between ones self and the bad things in life.