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There’s no better way to raise your children than to be a model they can take a cue from.

Psychologically speaking, a child is very likely to survive a challenge his or her parents survived, and has a great tendency to cave-in where they failed. Thank God for God’s grace!

Truth is, our lives are a book that our children read, and we can’t afford to deface that book with riotous living. If we truly value the success of the seed God has blessed us with then we must control our emotions, put ourselves under regimentation, lead principled lives, and inspire them with the lifestyle that can sustain their travel on the path towards a great future.

Your children will remember; and they will tell stories about you. What will they say?

When you have failed so many times, there’s a tendency to begin to see and define yourself as a failure. This tarnishes your own image of yourself and injects defeatism, inferiority, intimidation, and self pity into your behaviour.

It’s sad to see men who conquered lions begin to feel unsure about their ability to catch a rabbit. Snap out of it; you can’t afford to give up just yet.

You may not know what to do right now but you can at least begin the process of regaining your positive energy, and that spark of faith in your eyes by believing in yourself again, thinking healthy thoughts, visualizing your preferred destination, and speaking words of faith over your life. This will definitely set your environment right to begin again.

For further insights on this, read my previous on Viable Strategies in the Process of Transition.

You have what it takes to rise again!

While the specifics of a tough season may come as different strokes for different folks, one common thread that runs through that fabric is discomfort.

Economic and psychological pressures have a direct correlation, and wisdom is required to stem the tide.
What do you do when the process is stalling, income is low, bills are high, and pressure is mounting? I’ll share a few defense mechanisms that can help you make it through the financial tsunami. I hope you find them helpful.

1. Reboot
When troubleshooting a sluggish system, one of the first recommended steps is to restart the computer. This closes all programs and restarts the operating system. In a reboot session, a computer shuts down, goes offline temporarily, takes care of some internal business, then comes back on.

You need to reboot. Withdraw from events and people that have a tendency to put undue pressure on you to spend money you don’t have. Aggressively close every undesirable program (door and window through which money leaks out).

I heard Dr. Myles Munroe say, “failure is an opportunity to more intelligently begin again.” When you restart, be willing to analyze your mistakes, and do things differently.

2. Restructure
You may need to adjust your modes of operation. Eliminate unnecessary luxuries and expenditure. When your finances are in dire straits, that’s not when you want to keep three cars in your driveway, or eat at your favorite downtown restaurant where you’re served by celebrity chefs.

You may need to use the public bus service, or ride the subway, instead of a taxi drop. Look for the options that save you money. To succeed here, you’ll have to swallow pride, and quit bothering about what those who know you will think.

3. Activate survival mode
Is it possible to move your private office to your house to avoid paying multiple rents? Depending on how deep in the woods your finances are, you may need to downsize on children’s schools, number of staff, vehicles, housing, as applicable.

Sometimes economic issues remain unmitigated because people want to impress their friends more than they want to be set free. By all means, do what it takes to stay afloat.

4. Don’t waste your bullets
Don’t spend your extra money on things you miss from your days of abundance. Save it and think about how to multiply it. Delay the urge for immediate gratification.

5. Think clearly
Let go of ideas you have used over and over without success. Seek financial education. The better we learn, the more we earn.

6. Adjust with a sense of vision
Seeing those temporary economic measures as medication for the situation, and not as a resignation to failure, will help your commitment.

7. Give yourself time
Haste will find a way to suck you back into that sour black hole that you are trying to escape from. Give yourself time to bounce back properly, and have your economy stabilized. After that you can then reward yourself with the needed upgrade.

May God’s grace come through for you!

Be intentional about family time, and make it priority. It does not make much sense to invest in everything else, spend time with everyone else, and then make the assumption that the family will be okay. Invest your very best in the nest of your home.

Don’t be a stranger to your best allies; be a present, and participative parent. The profits are unparalleled.