The researchers and great thinkers who study anxiety have an expression that “whatever we resist persists.” In other words, whatever we push away from our mental experience tends to stay the same or even get worse over time, instead of getting better.

For example, if we have a conflict or dispute with an important person in our lives, and we ignore or avoid the matter instead of having a problem-solving conversation, the conflict tends to get worse. Or if we have a upcoming deadline and we distract ourselves with other activities instead of working on the project, the stress of the deadline grows.

Many authors who write about this dilemma go so far as to say that resisting experience is the heart of suffering.

Imagine how this may play out in the domain of personal finance. If you know that you should design a budget for yourself but you try to push this out of your awareness, the need for a budget (and the related money problem) tends to intensify.

On the other hand, what if you stop and allow yourself to experience your money-related feelings of anxiety, stress, and even discouragement or self-disappointment? Certainly, it would be uncomfortable for a short time, but the discomfort may ultimately motivate you to design a reasonable budget plan.

What other money-related situations or feelings do people tend to ignore, avoid, or resist?