The best way to reduce stress and overwhelm around credit card debt is to simply stop avoiding it.

No more hiding or ignoring. Quit pretending it’s not there. Bring it all out into the light so that you can be free.

Here’s a simple, low-tech plan of action I use with my clients to eliminate credit card debt.

What’s the thing you complain about most at work?

Not enough time?

Too many meetings?

Your overflowing inbox?

Doing things outside the scope of your role?

Yearning for a vacation?

We like to think that we’re superheroes of highly-efficient productivity, yet on most days, that’s far from the truth. Because back in reality, we can only do so much.

Boundaries with your time are by far the hardest to keep. You may start the work day knowing your schedule and the tasks you wanna get done. Next thing you know, it’s after 5 PM, and your to-do list is far from complete.

If our work day is not structured to meet our specific needs, others will intentionally or unintentionally steal large swaths of our time, leaving us frustrated, resentful, and feeling behind.

I have a quick trick that’ll save your precious time and energy.

Part of you will want to tell your partner and friends about this because it’s so easy. Why wouldn’t everyone do it?

On the other hand, part of you will want to keep the unfair advantage to yourself.

We’re in a rush. Our time is short and overflowing with tasks. It’s not often that we slow down enough to hear the guidance of our inner wisdom.

Looking to our friends, family, co-workers, neighbors, and social media for answers is typical and awfully convenient. We witness their lives, make judgments of their success, and may think, Oh, I’ll just do that.

We all yearn for the comforts of certainty. Whether knowing we have a safe place to sleep, a reliable car to drive, a paycheck coming in two weeks, or a partner who loves us, our fundamental human needs are to feel safe and secure.

We also crave variety, spontaneity, freedom, and ease.

From career success to monumental personal achievements, or milestones of marriage, buying a house, or even going on vacation, our ability to imagine how something will make us feel is often vastly inaccurate.

We continually rank future emotions and experiences higher than day-to-day activities.

What do you want?

This is one of the most powerful questions you can ask yourself. Because the clearer you are about your goals and desires, the more likely you are to achieve them.

Dreams aren’t just unrealistic fantasies. They’re meaningful messages worthy of attention and respect that leave a bread crumb trail to our happiness.

Your alarm goes off at 5:45 AM. Instantly, your chest tightens with the usual mix of panic and dread at the thought of yet another unhappy workday ahead.

You drag yourself out of bed with the willpower of a heavyweight fighter. Knowing that at least your favorite caffeinated elixir is less than five minutes away.