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How Can I Cultivate True Contentment in a "More, More, More" World? · Becoming Financially Confident

• 0:00
  Ralph: Let me ask you something.
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  Does it always feel like everyone around you is always chasing that
• 0:05
  next big thing, that new car, that bigger house, that latest gadget?
• 0:10
  Maybe it's you doing the chasing too, but if you're constantly feeling like you
• 0:14
  need more and that chase is draining your peace and it's also draining your wallet,
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  what if the answer isn't more stuff?
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  Deep contentment.
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  Well stick with me today 'cause we're gonna break down how to find peace.
• 0:41
  Hey there.
• 0:42
  Welcome back to your Daily, financially Confident Christian.
• 0:44
  I'm Ralph and I'm so glad you chose to join me today as we continue
• 0:48
  to answer that big question.
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  How can I become a financially confident Christian?
• 0:55
  And we're building a foundation in our new series that we started
• 0:57
  a couple days ago called Beyond the Budget, finding Financial
• 1:01
  Freedom Through Intentional Living.
• 1:03
  We're talking all about how to live intentionally and
• 1:06
  find that financial freedom.
• 1:07
  And yesterday we talked about how intentional living is about
• 1:10
  purpose and not deprivation.
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  I hope you checked it out.
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  If you didn't, I'm gonna encourage you to go listen to that again.
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  Because I really nailed it yesterday about how living intentionally
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  is not about deprivation.
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  Today I want to go and talk about something even deeper, and that's how can
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  you cultivate true contentment in this world that just says More, more, more.
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  And you know exactly what I'm talking about.
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  ' cause maybe as you listen to this, right now, you're feeling
• 1:36
  that pressure to keep up.
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  You look around and you see others.
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  You see your neighbor just got that new fancy car, or maybe your
• 1:43
  friend just bought a brand new house and you were over to their house.
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  Oh, well this house is beautiful.
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  Or maybe at work you see somebody's got the latest gadget and you, I
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  gotta have that gadget, and then suddenly you're thinking, what
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  I have just feels inadequate.
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  What I'm really talking about here is that not enough mindset.
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  It's easy to fall into that trap.
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  Listen, I've been there comparing myself to the neighbor,
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  comparing myself to the friend.
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  Don't even talk about social media.
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  Go on social media.
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  Look at the highlight reel there and see that not enough mindset that
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  just leads us to these impulse buys.
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  Oh, I gotta have this.
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  Oh, I gotta have the new car.
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  I'm thought about how you're gonna pay for it, which leads us to debt.
• 2:27
  And you've been working hard to pay off your debt, and you just,
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  I gotta have this new thing.
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  So you just build up the debt.
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  Again, all of that just leads us to this square piece of stress.
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  And if you're honest with yourself, you keep chasing,
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  but you never feel satisfied.
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  You know why?
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  Because that more, that, more that, more that, more, that
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  finish line just keeps moving.
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  It just keeps going farther ahead because there's another more in front of that.
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  And when that finish line keeps moving, it just robs you of the present joy
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  that you could experience right now.
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  And in the long run, it just completely steals your financial peace.
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  Here's the thing, you gotta understand.
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  The world we live in says more is better.
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  Hey, you gotta have more.
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  You gotta have the biggest house, the nicest car, the best gadgets,
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  you name it, the best clothes.
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  These sneakers, you get the idea like that watch I had to have that
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  I talked about a few days ago.
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  The world said, Ralph, you need more.
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  You need better.
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  But God's word gives us a better truth.
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  Let's look in the Bible.
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  Let's look at the book of Hebrews.
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  And this comes to us from chapter 13, verse five.
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  And I love this verse in the Bible because it really nails exactly
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  what I'm talking about today.
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  It says this, keep your lives free from the love of money and
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  be content with what you have.
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  And it could have stopped there, but it continues.
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  And it said, because God has said, never will I leave you.
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  Never will I forsake you.
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  What is it telling us here?
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  Keep your lives free from the love of money.
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  Now, a lot of people take that and and go different direction about that.
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  I've talked about that on the show.
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  Encourage you to go check out those episodes, but bigger than
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  that, the next couple words, and be content with what you have.
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  And then I love the ending to this because think about what
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  this verse is actually saying.
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  Be content with what you have because God has said, and here's,
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  here's what you really have.
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  Here's the contentment.
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  God will never leave you, nor will he forsake you.
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  See, contentment is not resignation.
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  Well, you know, I'm just gonna be content and I'm gonna do what Ralph said.
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  I'm just gonna live a dull, boring life, and I'm not gonna have the new
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  stuff, and I'm not gonna have the, that's not what I'm saying at all.
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  It's not resignation.
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  Instead, it's turning the tables and it's choose to live
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  with an intentional mindset.
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  Because what you're really doing there is you're trusting God's provision today,
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  and you're anchoring your peace in him.
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  You're anchoring your peace in the person who said, never will I leave you.
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  Never will I forsake you.
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  That finish line's not moving my friend.
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  It's right there where it's been from the beginning.
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  You're trusting in God's provision today, and you're anchoring your
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  peace in him, not your possessions.
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  If you're wondering how you break that power break that power of that more
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  and more and more, it's how you do it.
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  ' cause here's the big truth.
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  Contentment is a spiritual discipline that reduces financial stress.
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  I wanna say that again because it's so important that you hear that right now
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  where you are contentment is a spiritual discipline that reduces, I'm even
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  gonna say eliminates financial stress.
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  That sounds pretty good, doesn't it?
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  So now you're asking, what can we do?
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  How do we cultivate contentment in a discontented world?
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  It's a really tough call because everything around you
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  is telling you get more, more.
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  I mean, listen.
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  Open up your email, open up your phone, go online, do, and it's all
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  shouting to you more, more, more.
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  Well, here's my solution for today.
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  Practice conscious gratitude for what you already have.
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  Then actively resist comparison.
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  I'm gonna say that again because I think it's so important that you hear it.
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  Practice conscious gratitude for what you already have,
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  and then actively work at it.
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  Resist comparison.
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  It's training your heart to find sufficiency and joy right where you are.
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  What did the Bible say?
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  I'll never leave you nor forsake you.
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  You've already got it.
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  So here's my action step for you today.
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  I want you to take great time right now.
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  I want you to do what I call the gratitude pause.
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  I want you to take five minutes.
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  Maybe you can't do it right now, but when you've got some quiet time, but
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  I wanna encourage you to do it today.
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  Just take five minutes and I just want you to list three, four, or
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  five things that you're grateful for.
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  And these aren't some big pie in the sky things.
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  I want you to be detailed, think small.
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  Maybe it's something like you're grateful for coffee.
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  I know that sounds silly.
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  You're grateful for shoes, you're grateful for hugs, or you're grateful for moments.
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  ' cause what you're really doing is you have a purposeful idea to shift your
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  heart from scarcity to abundance.
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  See, that's what we need to do.
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  We need to shift our hearts from that feeling of scarcity to abundance.
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  Here's some ideas.
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  Maybe you say, I'm grateful for the quiet morning I had before the kids woke up.
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  I've been there.
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  My kids are gone from the nest at this point, but I remember
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  those mornings all too well.
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  So I'm grateful for that quiet morning I had before the kids woke up.
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  Just me, my bible, maybe a cup of coffee.
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  Here's another one.
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  One of the listeners shared this with me a couple months back.
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  He said, Ralph, I'm grateful.
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  My car, it may not be fancy, but it starts every morning and it
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  gets me to where I need to go.
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  Hey, there's something to be grateful for.
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  It's not that flashy new sports car that your neighbor has.
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  It's not fancy, but it starts every morning and gets me where I need to go.
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  Or maybe this, I had a 20 minute conversation with my teenager yesterday
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  and they actually opened up, Hey, that's something to be grateful for.
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  Teenager opening up to their parents.
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  I don't mind, we're struggling to do that.
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  Here's one a lot of people won't even think about.
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  The shoes I wore today are over five years old and still doing their job.
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  Listen, that's God's provision in your life.
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  And I don't mean to make light of it, but think about that.
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  Or maybe this one.
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  I'm thankful for the encouraging text A friend sent me out of nowhere.
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  I'm just gonna pause for a second.
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  Think about how impactful that can be.
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  If you have the ability to encourage someone today, do it ' cause
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  they're on the other side.
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  They're gonna be so thankful for that.
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  I want you to be specific.
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  You gotta be specific about this because gratitude grows in the details.
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  You're not just thankful for, oh, I'm thankful for my family.
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  No, You're thankful for how your son made you laugh last night, or how your spouse
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  made your coffee just the way you like it.
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  Be specific because gratitude grows in the details.
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  So that's the first thing.
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  Start that gratitude thing.
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  And then I want you to identify one of your comparison triggers.
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  We're gonna really battle this.
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  We gotta understand what our triggers are.
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  Where do you feel the most discontent, maybe for you?
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  It's on social media.
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  I see social media, Robin.
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  Everybody's got everything, and I don't have nothing.
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  Maybe it's in stores.
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  You walk through the target store or whatever store you go to.
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  Walmart, I don't really care where it is.
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  And it just makes you, oh, I wish I had that boy, I wish
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  I had the money to buy that.
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  Or maybe it's just certain conversations you get stuck in.
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  You've got to have a purpose of becoming aware of what stirs up discontent
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  or what stirs up envy in your life.
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  Here's some great examples of this.
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  I notice I feel less than every time I pass a luxury vacation post on Instagram.
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  Every time I see one of those posts, I, I, oh, I just feel, I feel like I'm
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  less because I'm not on that vacation.
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  Or maybe I get frustrated about my wardrobe after walking through
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  Target or scrolling on Amazon.
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  Maybe for you it's talking with a coworker just bought a new car and makes
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  me start to feel embarrassed about mine.
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  They're talking about, oh, I got this fancy sports car and I'm thinking
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  about my Toyota out in the parking lot.
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  It gets me to where I'm going, bud.
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  It's certainly not fancy and it's certainly not that flashy new sports car.
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  Maybe for you, it's when I hear someone talk about paying off debt quickly.
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  'cause I'm not able to do that 'cause I spiral into self-criticism
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  because I'm not doing that.
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  Maybe you, maybe for you it's printers used to inspire me.
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  Now it just makes you feel like my home isn't good enough.
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  Not spend a lot of time on Pinterest or our episodes are there, but it used
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  to inspire me, but now it just makes me feel like my home isn't good enough.
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  Ask yourself what places or people tend to shift your focus from that feeling of
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  gratitude to that feeling of grumbling.
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  Once you've identified, once you put those things in, implement
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  what I'll call a comparison filter.
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  Once you figure out those things that are causing you to not feel
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  gratitude, limit your exposure to them, unfollow those accounts, close
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  those shopping pads, redirect that conversation, and then let list you
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  made, revisit that gratitude list.
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  Maybe you need to do that every single day.
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  See, you've gotta proactively protect your mindset and
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  proactively protect your heart.
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  Here's some great examples that I unfollowed five influencers today.
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  It's probably a good start, and I realized they were subtly making
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  me feel like I was always behind.
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  Here's another great one.
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  I closed out my online card.
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  I had $120 worth of things I didn't need.
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  Instead, I reread my gratitude list and felt a shift.
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  Maybe next time someone brings up money or stuff that triggers me, I'm going
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  to change the subject or just silent, remind myself, Ralph, that's not my lane.
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  Or May, maybe I move the social media off off my home screen.
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  Now I pause before opening it and sometimes guess what?
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  I just skip it.
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  And I absolutely love this one.
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  Every time I feel the itch to buy something unnecessary, I take 60
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  seconds to list three blessings instead.
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  See, here's the truth.
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  Gratitude is the antidote to comparison.
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  And the goal isn't to shame yourself.
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  It's just not.
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  It's to really recenter yourself on what matters.
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  'cause here's why this works, 'cause gratitude refocuses
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  you on God's blessings.
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  I will never leave you no forsake you.
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  That filtering, comparison stops that not enough narrative.
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  You stop hearing that in the back of your head, and once you develop these
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  habits, they're gonna anchor you in peace and they're gonna anchor you in purpose.
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  Well, how about we pray together today?
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  Father God, we just thank you for all you've given us.
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  And Lord, we just confess that often we chase more and we
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  compare ourselves to others.
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  And Lord, we just ask that you would help us to live our lives free from
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  that love of money and cultivate deep contentment in our hearts for the
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  things you've already give us, Lord.
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  And help us to truly see the treasure, Lord, and the blessing
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  that you give us on a daily basis, and just be grateful for them.
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  And we ask this in confidence.
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  In Jesus name, Amen.
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  Listen.
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  Contentment is an active daily choice practice gratitude filter comparison
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  because you're moving towards freedom.
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  And I just wanna encourage you, if this episode has impacted
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  you, I'm gonna encourage you to share it with somebody else.
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  We talked about that a little while ago, about that encouraging text.
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  I. Maybe you know somebody that's struggling with this, somebody who's
• 13:28
  really batting that fear of not having enough, and I just wanna encourage you
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  to share this episode with them and show them that there is a purpose and
• 13:36
  they can be grateful for what they have.
• 13:38
  You can also visit our website@financiallyconfidentchristian.com,
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  where you can get a copy of my book, it's called Mastering Your
• 13:44
  Finances is absolutely free.
• 13:46
  You can get that@financiallyconfidentchristian.com
• 13:50
  slash master.
• 13:51
  I'm encourage you to get that.
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  Now, tomorrow we're gonna talk about how gratitude can
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  radically shift your finances.
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  Yes, we're gonna talk about a radical shift in your finances, so don't miss it.
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  And now I just wanna encourage you, let's go out there and be those
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  financially confident Christians.
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  You can do this.
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  I believe in you.
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  I want you to believe in yourself and stay financially savvy.
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  God bless you and you have a great day today.