Financially Stuck? Start Moving With the Power of the ‘Micro Yes’

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Have you ever felt financially stuck? Maybe you want to save part of your paycheck, but you can’t seem to get started. Or you worry about your future financial wellbeing, but you don’t know where or how to start investing. Or you need a will, but finding an attorney and making decisions about your estate feels overwhelming.

This is normal; everyone gets stuck from time to time. The challenge is getting unstuck so we can move forward.

Britt Frank, a licensed psychotherapist and trauma expert, has dedicated her career to helping people get unstuck and is the author of “The Science of Stuck.” I recently talked with her on my podcast, Financial Therapy – It’s Not Just About The Money.

Britt describes two types of being stuck. The first is when we really don’t like any of the possible choices. Then the work isn’t about finding a way out; it’s about figuring out which of the unpleasant choices is the least bad and moving forward.

The second is when your nervous system is locked in a state of self-protection. This is about fear and the body’s natural instinct to avoid perceived danger, even if that danger is change itself and the actual change may be positive.

Her tool for moving from stuck to unstuck is what Britt calls the “micro yes.” A micro yes is an action so small, so seemingly insignificant, that it’s easier to do it than to not do it. The goal isn’t to make a big dramatic change but to gently coax the brain into a state where change feels safe.