People call me crazy. Once, every 6 months, like clockwork, I get a wild hair and make some type of major change in my life. It's not on purpose, mind you, it just always seems to work out that way.

I move the living room furniture around; I knock out a wall in the bathroom and remodel it into a more usable space; I paint the bedroom a dramatically different color. It doesn't matter what it is (it's a good thing my husband has a strong heart!) as long as it's something different, it usually gives me satisfaction.

Why? When most people are so afraid of change, why do I almost thrive on such frequent upheavals in my environment?

Perhaps I want to keep myself always fresh, always out of a rut. It also gives me something to focus on when I'm working through some tough issues in my life.

Now, I'm the kind of person that would happily pick up and move to another city, if it would give us enough benefits to justify the change. Let me tell you about a friend of mine.

They had just gone through some really tough family issues, and had some heavy-duty medical bills result that ruined their credit. Rebuilding credit was at their top of their list¡­but they were struggling very hard to make everything meet, despite the added effort they put in.

Things went south pretty quickly, and they were soon faced with some of the biggest personal and financial decisions of their lives. They filed for bankruptcy, and 1 week later moved to a different state. Rebuilding credit now was not just an option, it was mandatory.

That wasn't an easy task, especially since they were still struggling with medical issues. But, for them, the extreme change of environment, social circle, business contacts was what they needed to begin again and begin down the path of rebuilding credit.

And it worked. Now, they are back on their feet and very happy in their new home city.

Now, this may have been rather extreme for some of you! Just deciding to change the design on your checks might be a several day process! (I say that because I spend DAYS looking at all the different designs¡­almost like therapy! Yes, I am a strange bird!)

But the point to this story is to tell you that the very first thing you need to do when re-evaluating your physical and financial life, especially evaluating rebuilding your credit, is to see where you can make some fresh changes and differentiate yourself from your pre-bankruptcy life.

Just that one step alone is enough to help spur you to continue to take steps moving forward in rebuilding credit, rather than curling up in a ball and hoping it all will just blow over.

Re-establishing yourself is more than just signing up for a secured loan, or buying a house or car. Rebuilding credit is about overcoming all of the self- doubt, worry, anxiety that you have pent up inside.

And if you find change right now too overwhelming, find another type of outlet.

Most people think a gym membership is too expensive. Shop around in your area for what you and your spouse would need in a gym. I know for us, my husband enjoys sweating and working out with weights as his outlet.

I enjoy just being able to escape the world for a few hours, running on the treadmill, soaking in the hot tub, having a coffee while gearing up to head back out in the real world.

My biggest point to all of this is that rebuilding credit and re-establishing yourself after a bankruptcy is far more than just rebuilding credit. It's rebuilding your self-esteem, self worth, and inner strength.

For me, I do that by taking a sledgehammer to various parts of the house! For you, perhaps reading a novel at Starbucks is more appealing.

Whatever it is, nurture that part of your self. Taking care of self will help you immensely when you begin taking care of your credit.

About the author:

Mary came by her after bankruptcy credit knowledge the hard way....walking through the process all by herself, making all of the decisions and those subsequent mistakes! After muddling through a sea of resources, she began weeding out the legitimate advice. Mary joined up with Credit Is Key to help spread the word to people rebuilding their life after bankruptcy.