From many accounts over the last few days, Lance Armstrong fessed up to the fact that he was not the biking phenomenon that we all thought he was. I did not see the program, but I have read that he admitted he was doping himself to accomplish we thought he had won. In short, he admitted he was living a lie. He was not who we thought he was! Shocking!
Were you shocked and/or disappointed? Many were and still are. I am seeing things on the internet and especially Twitter that suggest just that. Many who held Lance in high regard are re-thinking today.
You know, I run into people everyday who are or have been living a lie. How can I tell? Their debt! To fund their lifestyle and their personal approach to money, they have been borrowing more than they can afford. What they have been doing is legal and often convenient, but is is not who they really are or what they can really afford.
Our country, today, is full of many living a lie. If you are truthful with yourself, that may be you. You are living larger than what your wages or paycheck suggest you should be living and you are going into debt to accomplish it.
To be upfront, my wife and I were living a lie. As we found out, it started simple, but grew to a big one. From the outside to everyone who would see, all was well. However, when you pulled back the covers we were broke, owing more than what we could afford, and adding to it regularly. We were still good people, well she was, but we were broke. I have learned since we were not alone and I am glad to be off that path!
My guess is you will not lose any medals. Your friends may even stick with you. Many may not ever see the problem. However, how is the lie affecting your future? Your retirement? Your ability to pay off your house? Your relationship with your spouse? How your children will learn to manage money?
It is time to fess up just like Lance. If not with everyone else, be truthful with yourself and your spouse. Stop living your lie and get things moving in the right direction. That first step has to be taken by you.
Just the other day I happened to catch a few minutes of Rush Limbaugh’s program. A caller with a great memory was asking Rush if he had ever purchased the Lincoln Continental car he wanted many years ago. Rush shared that he had not and that “things had changed”. He went on to point out the irony of how you want things you know you can not afford and when you can afford them your desire to have them changes. Good advice.
Have you been living a lie with your finances? What are you doing to change not just your personal, but your ability to move forward financially?