Why You May Need To Change The Way You Think About Money
By now most people are familiar with the laws of attraction. I personally became obsessed with the book "Think and Grow Rich" by Napoleon Hill, which essentially outlines the fact that if you really want something with every fiber of your being, and you set goals that you write down and read every day - you will attract whatever you want into your life.
Of course this doesn't come without the work, but when it comes to money, I can personally attest to the importance of changing the way you think about money if you want to keep it flowing into your life. If you're someone who "thinks poor,” it's fairly safe to say that you're going to keep yourself stuck in that position. Here are some tweaks in your thinking that could help you start thinking like the wealthy.
Expand your definition of money.
It's common for us to define money as something we receive in exchange for work and give up in order to get stuff. Wealthy people, on the other hand, have a mindset that money is actually a tool to get them what they want in their lives, and that directly affects where they put it and how they spend it.
For example, imagine you have one million dollars to spend as you wish, and you decide to finance a new car that has a payment of $800/month. Most people would say that they should just buy the car outright and save on the financing costs. A wealthy person, on the other hand would put the million in a savings account (even with the standard, low 1% return, you are making $833/month) and use that interest to make the car payments. This way, your million is still in the bank and you get the car, as well.
I get it; most of us don't have that much money laying around to just make interest on (yet), but you can see how a wealthy mind understands that money is a valuable tool. Instead of just handing over cash in exchange for something, that extra step is taken to ensure they are using that tool in the smartest way possible.
Shift your focus from debt to success.
If you're living in a world where you're constantly thinking about how you're never going to be able to catch up with your bills and pay off your debt, this alone could be keeping you from achieving your financial goals. Shifting your focus from the problem to the solution will, in turn, shift your actions to those that will make you more money and ultimately get out of debt.
Setting up automatic bill payments can be huge in allowing you to stop stressing about them so that you can focus, instead, on the growth of your savings. Even if you're thinking about getting out of debt - you're still thinking about debt.
When you focus on the solution, you start thinking about ways to make more money - maybe a second job, selling some things or downsizing your life. Once I started being able to put money away, it gave me the confidence and belief that hitting my goals was totally possible. It almost started a snowball affect - the less anxiety I had about money, the more I found myself able to put more and more away.
My focus shifted from the problem to the solution, and I continued to attract ways to increase my wealth and take action to get there (which is the most important part).
Don't accept mediocrity.
I was raised to think that I needed to go school, get an education, get a well-paying job and build a cushy retirement fund and voilà! I will have lived a successful life. Notice that the richest people in the world also happen to have jobs they are extremely passionate about. It shouldn't be considered a luxury to love what you do for a living.
If you hate your job, how are you ever going to be really successful at it? Work doing something that fulfills you, and the money will follow - stay working at a mediocre job surrounded by mediocre people who also hate what they do and you're hurting yourself more than you know.
When you shift your priorities from short-term savings to long-term earnings, you are on your way to thinking like a wealthy person. Poor people are scared to take risks, but the wealthy know that taking chances will take them out of that mediocre salary range.
Tricks
Visualize yourself having all the money you’ll ever need, and imagine having everything that you want. Feel how that feels, and get comfortable with the idea of having reached your goals and all of the satisfaction that that brings you.
Expect yourself to succeed. There's no point in setting financial goals if you don't actually believe that you'll be able to reach them. When you think big, you get big.
Problem-Solving Questions:
I love this tip from Tony Robbins's Awaken the Giant Within. When you encounter setbacks in your journey to wealth, develop a pattern of consistent questions that will empower you so you stay motivated to keep working at it:
What is great about this problem?
What is not perfect YET? (The yet tells your brain that it will soon be perfect.)
What am I willing to do to make it the way I want?
What am I willing to do no longer in order to make it the way I want it?
How can I enjoy the process while I do what is necessary to make it the way I want it?
A negative mind will never give you a positive life. Start believing that you are capable of achieving everything you want and that you are deserving of all the success in the world. Set your goals, focus, and see what happens.
