Do you think there were people who helped you in the past?
Definitely yes! What exactly did you do to pay them back or have you still not returned their favor? Or are you someone who just let that moment pass as you failed to think of any step or measure that can match their help and effort? There can be many sorts of help like someone may have helped you secure a job or someone may have lend you money during those months of financial contingencies or someone may has just served the role of a confidante when you needed someone to confide in.
These are all small examples of debt of gratitude.
Showing gratitude may be tough for most of us as we often feel embarrassed and awkward about it. This kind of feeling emerges from the fact that we feel our show of gratitude may cause inconvenience and harm to them and sometimes there are people who fail to accept the fact that they’re seeking help from others. A negative approach makes them feel that repaying a debt of gratitude or returning someone else’s favor is a sign of weakness. But this is not so. It is just a way to show people how we value their help which they showed us and how we appreciate their gesture.
Is there a way of reducing your soaring debts using psychology tools?
You must be wondering what gratitude and debt has to do with each other and what ways can we adopt to decrease debt levels and increase gratitude. When M.C Starbuck finally was done with her last student loan installment, she realized how she learnt few valuable things from her experience of being indebted. However, she started feeling poor and she was again brought back to reality where she had to remember those things for which she had to be grateful in life.
What was it that helped her to eliminate her debts one by one? It was Gratitude. According to her, if you’re content and fulfilled with whatever you have in your life, you tend to stop getting more things in life.
When life feels scanty, you can fill your life with gratitude.
When you’re living a life on tight budget and you’re scrimping and budgeting against your heart’s content, life may seem to be scanty and sparse. You might then just think how you could be grateful for anything when you’re thriving on left-overs and when you haven’t given a sip to cafe coffee for months. During such harsh times, it is important for you to practice gratitude. As per Berkeley University, it has been scientifically proven that gratitude can:
- Boost positive emotions
- Increase satisfaction within a relationship
- Reduce signs of depression
- Increase positivity when you face stressful events and many more such things.
Your family members and friends will thank you when you practice gratitude. Studies have revealed that while gratitude is a relationship builder, materialism is a relationship killer!
How can gratitude help you bid goodbye to debt?
Yes, Megan has found out 4 different ways in which being grateful can help you fight against soaring debts. Let’s check out how.
#1: Eliminate everything that you no longer need
Yes, if you can be grateful enough to eliminate and do away with everything that you don’t need, you will find others to be grateful for getting things that you don’t use. You will gradually realize that you have everything that you require and that you wouldn’t need more. Rather with lesser stuff, you can peacefully reside in a smaller home with cheaper things. So start donating things to help yourself combat debt.
#2: Think of reasons you’ll be glad to part with things
You might face reluctance when you think of parting with something, even your debt. If this is your situation, you need to think how grateful you can feel as soon as it’s gone. Stop focusing on all the reasons behind keeping it and start focusing on the reasons you will feel glad when it’s gone.
#3: Stop complaining about what you don’t have
When you keep using whatever you have, you stop missing all those things with which you parted. On the other hand if you keep complaining about the things that you don’t have or the things that you need, you will just waste the present beautiful moment. Hence, it is better to be thankful for whatever little you have now and wait for the right time to get what you want rather than considering it as a need.
#4: Gratitude helps you stop being an impulsive buyer
When you’re grateful, it stops you from being an impulsive buyer. The rarer you visit shops; the better will be your state of mind as you won’t spend too much time looking for more and more things to keep you happy. This kind of feeling will prevent a buyer from experiencing the grief of not having too many things.
Decluttering your debt – One of the best methods involved.
As per a study done in 2011, people are seen to pay back their smaller debts first as they feel that extreme sense of satisfaction and achievement. But in an ideal situation, the best strategy is to work towards paying back the debt which has the highest interest rate. If you wish to obtain this, you have to declutter your debts and put them in one place by securing a lower rate. Transferring your balance to a new card can be a good way to repay your debt within the time the introductory period completes.
Therefore, now you must be sure about how showing gratitude can help you combat your burgeoning debt level. You can also seek help of professional debt relief companies which help you get out of debt in a systematic manner.
Apart from that, you may also practice showing gratitude in order to remain happy with your present state and lead a positive life.
Would you like to help us shatter stereotypes about men?
Receive stories from The Good Men Project, delivered to your inbox daily or weekly.
—
Photo: Flickr/John Hain
The post Paying Back The Debt Of Gratitude appeared first on The Good Men Project.