Compartmentalize-How do you do it?

Let's look at a very simple strategy to understand. It's quite difficult for most of us to accomplish; it's called compartmentalization. I think that it's safe to say that we all face tough times in today's financial market place.  Personally and professionally, we are all faced with certain decisions that we simply just don't want to deal with each and every day. 

So what do you do?  I got nothing, right? Wrong!  We have to act.  We have to make something happen or the problem will never go away.  So how do you do that?  How do you deal with something that you can't do anything about? I bet that some of you out there right now reading this have faced certain depression, feeling that things just can't get any worse, that the world is closing in on you; especially when it comes to your financial lives.  You probably have wondered how you got to this place while feeling hopeless.  DON'T!  It always gets better! Yes, it may get a little worse, but it can always be worse.  Something I know for a fact is that it always gets better.  You just have to move the ball along and make something happen. 

So how do you do that?  Well it's no secret you have to look at life as a series of events.  Each event has to be dealt with to the best of your ability.  What you do is create a space in your mind filled with tiny compartments, boxes so to speak.  Each thing that you have to deal with goes in one of those boxes.  You simply open the box and put the problem in it.  You have to do this subconsciously but if you write it down you will help commit it to your subconscious.  Once there it stays there in that tiny compartment until opened so you can deal with it. 

So let's say you owe a bunch of creditors money.  Well, that one is easy.  You don't deal with any of them until you need to.  So as I always say, you have to have a plan and then work the plan of the day. That helps with your compartmentalization of the problem.  Each Monday you open the tiny box in your mind that deals with these creditors and give them all a call.  Pay the ones you can work out payment arrangements with and tell the ones you can't pay you are still thinking about them.  Then CLOSE the tiny box in your mind and move on!  Seriously, close it and don't look back until next Monday.  You don't need to deal with it anymore this week.  You don't need to stress about it, get anxiety, or have another sleepless night. 

You see if you can't do anything about it then you don't need to deal with it, at all.  This doesn't mean go to sleep depressed wake up a week later only to find that you still have the problem but bigger.  What this means is that when you go to bed, close all the tiny little boxes in your mind because there is nothing you can do about it until morning. 

When all else fails, go to my number one rule - Communication.   Communicate with whoever can to help solve your problem.  That way you don't have to have anxiety build up to a boiling point only to lead you back to the mere fact that you still have to communicate.  Open the compartment in your mind that "stores" the problem, communicate and deal with it, then close it and move on.  Don't reopen it or think about the problem until you can do something about it.   

This is very hard to do, but if you practice you can master it and once you have done that your life will be so much easier that you simply can't believe it.  You see we all try to solve problems that aren't ready to be solved, meaning that with faith that the good Lord will provide you simply have to be ready and act when the time is right.  So, if today is not right and you can't do anything to fix the problem yet and you have already communicated as best you can simply move on to the next compartment and deal with that situation.  You will find that you will have the best sleep you have had in years. 

So open up your mind and accept the fact that you can't solve all your problems at one time, create a space in your mind that will compartmentalize all your problems and then leave them there until you are ready to solve them.