Stormy Rain

Have you heard the saying "When it rains it pours"?  I think we've all heard that saying at some time or another when it seemed like a lot of bad things were happening all at once. Like everything that could go wrong did go wrong and you were left to just deal with life's blows as they came. You could say the last few months have been that way for me. To be really honest, the last few years. But today I was reminded of the power of positive thinking and having a renewed outlook on life. 

I'm a goal-setter by nature and like any other year I had some specific goals I had set at the start of 2016. One of my goals for the first quarter of the year was to use my tax refund to pay off my car; that would free up enough cash each month to have me free from all debt except mortgage and student loans by summer. That goal was delayed last month after I learned that someone had tried using my social security number to file their tax return and that it could take up to 180 days (six months) for the IRS to resolve the issue and release my funds. Somehow I was more overwhelmed by all the calls I had to make reporting identify theft than I was upset about the situation. Ultimately I was more concerned about getting things secured than not getting my money right away. Fast-forward a few weeks to this past Saturday when I received a check in the mail with my state refund. I was surprised and happy to know that my federal refund was on the way, I could still meet my first quarter goal! Today I received a letter from the IRS saying that all of my federal refund was applied to my federal student loans, I would not be getting any money. Immediately instead of sulking or being upset my mind went to optimistic thoughts about how my goal would be reached. I blocked any negative thought that tried to enter my mind and willed myself into getting excited to see the amazing way God would honor my desire to be debt-free. After all, my primary goal for the year is to reduce debt, isn't having my refund applied to student loans still on the road to financial freedom?  I'm proud of myself today, I'm actually walking what I talk on this blog!

You may think this is all bogus and there's no way to "think" your life better but I challenge you to give it a try and see how much your life changes. It starts and ends with you, why not take action?

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