Get out of the bad budget cycle

I feel like, at any point, if we're all honest, we've gotten off track when it comes to budgeting. Maybe it was intentional- you were tired and we just wanted that cup of coffee. Or maybe it was unintentional, as in you forgot to budget for something.
 
At some point, everyone has gotten off track. The key to getting out of debt, staying out of debt, living intentionally and with purpose within your budget is that when you get off track, you get back on track as quickly as possible. 
 
The other day I was driving down the road by myself and I got lost in my own thoughts. Before I knew it, I was on the rumble strip -- that oh so gentle (read: obnoxiously loud!!) reminder that the county puts down for you to move back onto the highway.

And instead of moving back onto the highway, I just drove my car into a ditch and waited for someone to come and bail me out. No! That's not what happened. I heard the reminder and I gently veered back onto the road and reminded myself to slow down and focus and went about my business.
 
And that's just like what happens when we get off track. We have to remind ourselves to slow down, reevaluate the process, focus, and get back on track.
 
I feel like sometimes we can use our little budget failures as an excuse to continue to live this way. We might say "I'm bad at budgeting, I'm just going to give up." Or, "I can't stick to a budget, I'm just going to give up." You have the power to change your life.

You have the power to change your life through small, attainable actions. You don't have to stay stuck where you are forever.
 
Maybe it's not a little budget mistake that got you off track, maybe it's years and years and years of mismanaging your money. Maybe you have had some bad habits in the past that you're having to work through and move on.
 
But, remember, those things that you've done in your past, they don't define who you are. They don't get to determine your future for the rest of your life. Not if you decide now that you're angry enough to change your behavior. This is something that I'm having to preach to myself in other areas of my life. I have to be angry enough to change my behavior and not be defined by those mistakes, and move on.
 
What about you? What are you doing to get out of the debt ditch?