During the past seven weeks, Luke and I had the privilege of leading a course on financial freedom at our church. As we prepared to wrap up the course this week, I sat on our living room couch thinking about all of the success the class had seen during those seven weeks. During that time we had experienced a shift in mindset regarding debt, we created budgets and we made some wonderful new friends!
As I think about these first steps to success, it is evident to me that there is something very special and necessary that brought us to this place and will continue to push us forward: community.
Community, in this case, is all about hanging out with others who share common attitudes, interests and goals. Each person that spent time with us these past seven weeks decided to because they wanted to learn more about financial freedom and wealth building. We were all there to learn together.
As the classes continued, I realized that Luke and I were there to do more than lead a class about money.
We were there to become part of a community. 🙂 One of the functions of the class was to create a platform from which we all could connect and share our lives with each other in deep and meaningful ways. In doing so, a community was created that promoted success through encouragement and accountability.
Encouragement
There is nothing more motivating than hearing about progress that a teammate is experiencing in their life. In our case, it was so inspiring and encouraging to hear about how our friends were growing and changing the way that they thought about debt and money. They truly are winning! It is so much fun to celebrate with others; this really is a huge part of success that is not experienced when you are on a journey by yourself.
Accountability
It is also easier to stay on track to meet your goals when you are accountable to a community of people that have similar goals. It is important to intentionally seek out an accountability partner or even a few. These are individuals that are a part of your community and are going to ask you the tough questions and hold you to your goals. They will walk with you and help you stay the course.
Don’t tackle tough situations or goals alone. It is so much more fun to go through it with a community! We have been completely blessed by the new friends we have made and are so excited to see all of the things that they will accomplish and the goals that they will achieve. We are so proud of you!
What things do you love the most about communities that you are a part of?
