⏳ Erebus Growing | 0040 - Tenet 4: No one is coming to rescue you

Welcome to Erebus Growing, a weekly email where I share little snippets of life to help you change and grow into your highest life.

It’s been a week. (Literally and figuratively.)

I’m finally settling into the idea and knowledge that I’ll be leaving my current 9-5 and adjusting to that change.

I’m genuinely excited for the potential that exists in this next step of life.

I’m really looking forward to seeing what will happen, given how transformative my time here has been.

It’s a world of difference when you consider that the next place will be with everything I’ve learned here.

The lessons of letting work and personal life flow, that there are other ways to earn money than just trading your time for it, that you have to focus on building your life because it won’t just happen, that you are meant to grow and change and flourish, that you need to honor your body in multiple ways, and that this is it—your life will end and you need to move accordingly.

👨🏻‍💻 Meditation

No one is coming to rescue you.

I’ll be the first to admit that I’m struggling financially right now.

It’s why I picked up the part-time job (which I’m enjoying still and starting to impact with my own skills by building spreadsheets and thinking about systems).

And I’ve thought a dozen times about how can I fix this?

The short answer is only by going through it.

When my mother was younger, she had similar issues and my grandparents (her parents) gave her money.

She took it, fixed the immediate problem, and moved on.

But she never learned from it.

It’s why she’s come to me and my siblings multiple times to ask for help.

I am refusing to bend to that type of option. Because I’m actively choosing not to do that, it’s building my resolve to never, never be in this type of position again.

Once I am able to drop this part-time position, I never want to put myself in a position to have to pick one up again unless I choose to.

“Choose” is the key word. Right now, it’s not a choice for me. And it’s my own doing.

I spent too much money, took out two personal loans, and still ran my credit cards up. All because I wanted to get what I wanted because I could.

Personally, I’ve been making plans to cancel credit cards as I pay them off. That’s how serious I am about never getting in this place again.

This is all happening because I’ve come to understand, accept, and move in the knowledge that no one is coming to rescue me.

I have to fix this on my own. And the only way to really fix it is to go through it.

That doesn’t mean that there isn’t relief coming.

I’ll be finding a new higher paying 9-5 in a few months for the next 3-5 years. One of my personal loans will be paid off next October. My water rower will also be paid off next October/November. My public service loan forgiveness should be completed in early 2025.

All of these combined will not only increase my income but also free up almost $900 a month. And then I’m going to turn all of that onto my second personal loan to free up an additional $350. Then it all gets turned loose on credit cards.

No one is coming to rescue me, but I have a plan.

And the only reason I have that plan is because I don’t have any other choice.

Safety nets can be helpful, but they often let you relax.

What’s been interesting about this experience is that:

1. I’m actually doing the work because I don’t have a choice.

2. This experience is changing my perceptions about how I respond.

3. When the only choice is through, you figure it out.

I have a family member who has said that if I ever needed money, they would give it to me. I am incredibly blessed with that.

But I’m not going to them. I don’t want to. I have to break the bad habits that I have.

If I just give in, that does nothing. What happens the next time?

No one is coming to rescue me. 

And that’s okay. In fact, in some ways, I prefer it. It’s teaching me what I want to keep vs. what I need to keep.

It’s showing me my priorities and I’m constantly listening to them.

Which leads to the next life tenet, the idea of practicing progress, not perfection. But that’s a story for next week.

📚 Inspiration and Resources
Every week we all consume content and I share my favorites here.

Watch.
A lovely YouTube channel that I fell in love with was BYU Vocal Point. It’s just an amazing moment to enjoy the vocal expertise of the group members. Acapella has always been an underlying love for me. Here are two videos that I got to enjoy again yesterday. Give video one a watch here and video two a watch here.

📓 Journaling Prompt
Journaling is one of the most important things to do when exploring our own lives. A new prompt for you to use this week is below.

Where are you waiting for someone to come and save you?

Until next time, I wish you enough and send you off with love and a sense of urgency in your life.