Good Morning Jason!
Thanks for sharing those tips. I will totally apply the one about rewarding myself (trend to by quite self critical)
I consider myself optimistic and an overall happy person. However, I think these next 3.5 years are going to be more a patience exercise than a financial one. However, I can tell you we are DE-TER-MINED to achieve the goal and finish it strong (and please, don't burn my pintxos!!).
Things that I personally did over the years to eliminate negativity and proved to be helpful (they are also along the lines of the tools you mentioned):
- Eliminated TV completely (I'm almost positive I haven't watched TV since I am 15 years old). We don't even have cable and only watch selected stuff like movies or documentaries.
- Eliminated stupid apps like Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin and other similar stuff. The only thing they did was sucking my time and making me think my life was garbage since you only see people's pretty stuff (like wtf are you all day at the beach and hiking mountains...or mannnn, that person is always drinking amazing Caribbean cocktails)> You can't help to compare yourself to others.
- Don't see or read the news. Only selected things I am interested in.
- Couldn't care less about other people's problems. Unless they are relatives (pretty much only first line relatives)
- Don't pay attention to problems of the world that I can't really help solving.
- Have things to look forward to, like a camping trip, good weather on the weekend (bbq for sure), stay at home on Friday and cook a Spanish omelette (a ton of potatoes, eggs and onion)...
- Join a challenge. This year we are not buying any clothes at all.
You might think I am a selfish bastard...but I think it is an adapted stoic mentality. I need to read more about stoicism by the way... And, I also recommend the Art of Happiness.
Cheers and I wish you an awesome day!!