Conventionally, we view paying off our debts as catching up on our prior spending. Whether it be student loan debt, credit card debt, fancy car debt, or whatever, we're making amends for financial transactions of the past. MMM has rightly defined such debt as an emergency and encouraged readers to regard it as such, often suggesting "drastic" changes in order to deal with the emergency as quickly as possible.
I rather like the idea of applying that emergency mentality to my current and especially my future spending. Being indebted to my future spending is absolutely an emergency; every day until I fully pay down the debt, I'm compromising my integrity by making choices with how I spend my time that I wouldn't make if I were debt free. The greatest risk of all is that I'm mis-living in the meantime. I can think of no greater emergency.