Advertisement
Debt Diaries, Step Six: Surrender your character defects to be removed
One woman’s 12-step path of recovery from debt addiction. Step Six involves surrendering yourself to allow your shortcomings to be removed
We list patterns of thought and behaviour that are not working for us anymore.
If you’ve ever been in therapy, your therapists will call these “areas for growth.”
Like all the steps, I approached this one with the grace and willingness of a toddler, mid-tantrum. I was able to see, thanks to a decade of therapy and a very thorough step four and five, what my defects were.
But a lot of my defects are very seductive and hard to let go of.
One of the character defects that came up over and over again was entitlement. For some reason, I felt that I should be able to buy a lot of fancy things I couldn’t pay for; that it was appropriate, for example, for a twenty-something with $10,000 in debt and living at home (and paying no rent) to buy Chanel sunglasses at $300 a pair. I felt like I was special; like I shouldn’t have to play by the rules. This defect had gotten in the way of happiness countless times; it had also proved ruinous in relationships. So, obviously, I’d want to get rid of it, right? Not necessarily. Hanging onto it gave me a delicious hit, this feeling that I was better than others, that I was more gifted, talented, special than the unwashed masses. To let go of this defect I might have to show humility (yawn). That sounded kind of blah and pedestrian. But again. I had taken steps one through five.PREVIOUS STEP: Ask a higher power to remove your defects
Maybe I could give this one a try. What I learned:NEXT STEP: Admit what got you into this mess
Share this article Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linkedin Share on Reddit Share on Email
Car loan interest rates can be as confusing as a complicated recipe, and just as daunting to navigate. This...
Buying your first car in Canada is like any other major purchase. Ask a lot of questions, not just...
A fresh international challenger has the potential to add competition to the country’s banking oligopoly, though experts warn it...
Learn how to manage your money, understand your earnings, invest wisely and more, from this excerpt of Personal Finance...
Bank of Canada makes a big cut, U.S. inflation is up, Oracle ends a great year on a low...
Created By
Ratehub.ca
Before taking out a loan, learn the differences between these two types, which has better interest rates, and which...
Canada bank earnings remain on target, Dollarama’s expectations catch up to it, “insider selling” sets a new record, and...
Back into the tariff hurricane, Couche-Tard pumps profits, Macy’s loses $130 million, and is there too much optimism about...
Buying a car is a big deal. Understand the financial part of the purchase and, hopefully, save yourself some...