If you’ve always struggled when it comes to anything remotely connected to money, you may have a poor money mindset. No, pun intended right there. But seriously, a healthy money mindset can be one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself.
You may be thinking right now that you don’t have the greatest mindset regarding money, your first question is probably – okay how do I change it?
The good news is that our mindsets can always be changed! We are in control of our minds, thoughts, and emotions, even if it doesn’t feel like it. This means you can change your own money story starting with your mindset.
4 Reasons You Need to Improve Your Money Mindset
1) It Has a Positive Influence on Your Actions Towards Building Wealth
A healthy money mindset will influence you to take the right actions towards building wealth. The more positive thoughts you have about money and wealth, the more your actions will follow.
Think about what you would do before when you thought money was out of your grasp or that it would change you. You probably stayed in your comfort level and never took any chances or tried to change anything. So, couldn’t the opposite be true if you changed how you felt about money?
Related: The Benefits of Saving Money While Building Credit
2) You Can Reduce Anxiety About Money
If you experience a lot of anxiety when you think about money, you’re not alone. I know from personal experience that there’s no pressure on Earth like money pressure. This feeling is very common and comes from our different life experiences. But the good news is that you can get reduce it by changing your money mindset.
Anxiety about money comes in many forms, from being afraid of taking risks in investments, to fearing you will change as a person if you become wealthy. You might even have anxiety from a past of not having enough money to live off. Changing your mindset can put these fears and thoughts to rest.
3) It Helps Increase Your Optimism About Life and Your Future
Not only will your positive money mindset change your life when it comes to wealth building, but also many other areas of your life as well. Optimism is contagious and improves every part of your life.
When you feel positive about money, you’ll begin to see the possibilities in your career, in your passions, and in the people you choose to have around you.
Related: Money Habits that’ll Increase Your Wealth
4) You Will Encourage People Around You
People are most influenced by those they spend the most time with. So you can actually be a positive influence on your friends and loved ones by having a positive money mindset.
In doing that, you’re also surrounding yourself with like-minded people, and this continues and helps everyone reach their desired level of wealth.
3 Signs You Need to Change Your Money Mindset
The way we relate and respond to money and financial situations has likely been there all our lives. It’s a part of the way we were brought up and our experiences with money as a child and young adult.
We carry the mantras the people in our lives said about money whether we realize it or not. Here are some eye-opening signs that you might need to develop a different money mindset:
1) You think of wealth in a negative light. When you see wealthy individuals on the news or in movies and TV shows, do you visualize them deep-down as evil or selfish? Do you think money changes people in a bad way? Do you believe the mantra – more money, more problems?
You feel defeated or unworthy of wealth. An unhealthy money mindset can inadvertently make you feel inferior as if there’s nothing you can do to become a wealthy person. You may believe on some level that living paycheck to paycheck is honorable and your destiny.
You feel like your lack of money now holds you back from taking action. You believe the saying, “it takes money to make money.” If you don’t have any now – you never will. This becomes a cycle of victim thinking that the wealthy generally don’t have when it comes to money. They simply believe they have the power to build more wealth no matter the situation.
Why You Must Let Go of the Negative Emotions & Thoughts About Money
The more negative thoughts you let into your mind about money, the more those thoughts will influence your actions when it comes to building wealth. This is not just about your own money, but how you feel about others with money and the emotions that come up.
If you experience feelings of envy and jealousy when around people with money, instead of feeling motivated and inspired, you know you have more negative emotions about money than positive ones. This is the first thing you should focus on when transforming to a better money mindset.
Start thinking of wealth and people with money in a more positive light. Choose to be inspired and influenced and allow yourself to become more motivated. Look at it as something to aspire to, not to look down on.
Focus on Abundance, Not on Scarcity
To shift your money mindset, there needs to be an intentional shift to start thinking about abundance instead of scarcity. An abundant mindset is one where you see money as something you can attain regardless of the obstacles. You believe you are good with money, will use it wisely, and that it can have a positive impact on your life and other people’s lives.
People are not poor because they make bad decisions; people remain poor because poverty inhibits their ability to make good decisions.
The Harvard Crimson
Transform to a Success Mindset
Start thinking in terms of success and wealth, not in just being comfortable and settling. Expand your knowledge on your profession or whatever way you intend to become wealthy. Learn more about savings and investments, about building wealth, and this will help you to shift what you think about money.
Powerful Money Mindset Myths That Need to be Debunked
When it comes to the way people think about money, there are many myths that can hold you back if you believe in them. These are very common yet powerful myths that are believed by many, but they don’t have to be your story, just because they are someone else’s.
You Can’t Be Wealthy if You Come From Money
You hear this all the time when people are referring to the more famous millionaires and billionaires, who might be heirs to a fortune. It’s easy to believe that money gets passed down (or not) like the DNA of the parents. And for some this may be true.
But that’s not true of every wealthy individual and family. The wealth started somewhere with someone – likely with a fascinating story. Therefore, just because you were not born into a wealthy family, doesn’t mean you can’t be the first one in your family to achieve any level of success you aim for.
Not Everyone Has the Option to Become Wealthy
It doesn’t matter who you are or where you come from – you can be wealthy too! This is a limiting belief, something that you’ve convinced yourself as a way to not even try. If you are happy and fulfilled in the life you have right now, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. But if you’re honest with yourself and feel like there’s more for you, you owe it to yourself to pursue that feeling in your gut.
You Can’t Buy Happiness
Do you believe this old adage? That you shouldn’t focus on building wealth because it won’t be the secret to happiness. Money is not the only thing in the world that can make you happy, but it doesn’t mean it won’t bring happiness or at least make things in your life a lot easier and more enjoyable.
Money brings security, a sense of comfort in your life, and can help others who need it. All of this and more can improve your own happiness with the help of money.
Having Money Makes People Greedy
You might have heard this from your parents or other people growing up, that people with a lot of money are greedy and selfish. The fact is, money is neutral. It doesn’t simply change people once they get some.
But it is a magnifier! It will magnify the personalities on the inside of a person. If they were selfish and self-serving before they had money, you can be sure those behaviors will be much bigger with money.
If a person is truly a generous person who loves people, money won’t change that. But it will make it a lot easier for them to help and serve others.
You Need a Better Foundation to Become Wealthy
This is more of an excuse than anything else. People think because they don’t have an Ivy school education or a certain level of status, they can’t be wealthy. This is yet another way to think negatively about money and wealth, and is going to keep you from what you want.
What is a Healthy Money Mindset?
A healthy money mindset is one where you have a positive, uplifting, and encouraging mindset about making money. It is a wealth mindset, where you focus more on abundance instead of scarcity. A scarcity mindset is one that always fears not having enough which is the root of most selfish behaviors.
A healthy money mindset that you and anyone else can earn as much money as they want, with the right knowledge and tools.
Here are some things to know about healthy money mindsets and how to transform your own attitude about money.
Signs of a Healthy Money Mindset
First, let’s look at some common signs and qualities of people who have a healthy money mindset.
It’s important to know that your past doesn’t have to define your future. Don’t forget that whatever happened in your past related to money or wealth doesn’t have to define what’s in front of you.
You can come from a place of poverty or a modest middle-class home, and be wealthy. Anyone can achieve what they want, no matter what their struggles were. Whether you made a bad financial decision or were irresponsible with your money as you became an adult, these are all fixable.
Easy Money Mindset Shifts to Start Today
Here are some easy ways to start transforming your money mindset, starting right now:
Change your perspective and what money and wealth means to you. Money is not evil and it doesn’t make people greedy. It is not something to be envious of if someone else has it and you don’t.
It is not something you are born with or without, and have to settle for. Have a positive mindset on money and what it can do for your own life and happiness.
Focus on abundance, not on scarcity. Begin to see money as something that you can attain by building healthy money habits. It is not something that will “run out” and there won’t be enough left for you to become wealthy. Live in a world full of never-ending abundance.
Journal about your plans. Think about what you will do when you reach the level of wealth you desire. What plans do you have? How will it have a positive impact on your life? What causes will you support?
