What’s Your Money Mindset?
Thoughts, stories, and limiting beliefs about money
When I ask clients why they aren’t following through with their dreams, many limiting beliefs often come up, but the top one is usually, “I don’t have enough money”, “I can’t afford it”, or something along those lines.
Many of us use lack of money as an excuse and we avoid the topic because we think it’s complicated.
Thoughts about money get tangled in our minds, cause stress and keep us awake at night.
So what can we do about that? The first step in getting clear about money and creating an abundant money mindset is to learn more about our money and actually develop a relationship with our money.
What’s your relationship with money? Do you feel comfortable spending money on yourself?
It’s likely that your relationship with money is complicated. Money is a topic that brings up a lot of different emotions from joy and excitement to fear, anxiety and “not enoughness”.
Your thoughts about money will impact everything from your career choices and when to retire, to your personal relationships.
What are some common stories we tell ourselves about money?
Many of our stories come from childhood. You may have heard the saying “Money is the root of all evil”, and “Money doesn’t grow on trees”. Those sayings create uneasy feelings about money.
To develop a healthy money mindset, it’s important to take a close look at and challenge stories you’ve heard and limiting beliefs you hold onto.
Understanding Limiting Beliefs about Money
Limiting beliefs are stories and negative thoughts we hold onto that keep us from achieving our goals. Your limiting beliefs will stop you from making more money, holding onto money, and will create that feeling of never having enough money.
Your thoughts create your experiences. If you keep telling yourself that you’ll never be able to afford something, you’ll never be able to afford it. You’ll stay safe and comfortable, but you’ll never achieve your goals and dreams.
Limiting beliefs about money will stop you from taking risks, going after opportunities, and making smart financial decisions. They can also lead to self-sabotage and stop you from reaching your full potential.
You’ll also find yourself using money as an excuse to cover up other limiting beliefs (i.e., lack of confidence). Years ago, I experienced this first hand. In my early twenties I had a dream of opening a bookshop/tea room. I told myself money was the obstacle, but when I had the good fortune to be offered the financing, I panicked and all my fears came up - fear of failing, lack of confidence, my own “not enoughness”. I said no and abandoned my dream.
I was using money as an excuse to cover up all my limiting beliefs and insecurities, and it was years before I figured that out.
So how do you change your money mindset? It takes time and a gradual shift to creating new, more helpful beliefs, but here are a few tips to get started:
Identify your limiting beliefs: The first step to changing your money mindset is to notice and identify where you have limiting beliefs. Take some time to reflect on your thoughts and feelings about money. I find the most effective way to do this is by writing it all down. Use a clean page in your journal and make a list.
Challenge your beliefs: Once you’ve identified your limiting beliefs, it’s time to challenge them. Are they based on facts or just assumptions? Do you know for sure if they’re true, or is this something you heard as a child? Where are you using money as an excuse to not move forward with your dreams?
Find positive role models and take action: Surround yourself with people who have positive attitudes about money to help shift your mindset. Look for examples that your thoughts may not be true. Make a commitment to learn about money and about your own finances specifically.
The importance of emotional wealth
When we think of wealth, we usually think in terms of money, but there is also emotional wealth, which to me is much more important.
Emotional wealth refers to our mental and emotional wellbeing. It includes our relationships with others, our sense of purpose, personal growth and self-care. It’s our capacity to experience joy and find meaning in our lives.
When we focus on our emotional wealth we tend to feel happier and more satisfied with our lives.
Often, though, we’ll sacrifice our emotional wealth for money and other forms of material wealth. A good example of sacrificing emotional wealth for material wealth is staying in a stressful job for much longer than we want for the promise of a bigger salary or pension. Or we may decide to postpone that trip we’ve always wanted to go or not start that business that’s tugging at our hearts because we need to wait until “someday” when the money is there.
Sometimes the sacrifice is necessary and smart, but if your health is compromised, is it really worth it? When will “someday” get here?
Develop a healthy money mindset
To develop a healthy money mindset, you’ll need to start challenging your limiting beliefs about money. Here are some journal prompts to get you started:
What messages did I receive about money growing up?
What emotions and feelings do I notice when I think about money?
How much money is “enough” to get started on my dreams?
Am I using lack of money as an excuse to not follow my dreams?
Do I believe money is good or bad? Write down all your beliefs about money.
Do I believe it’s possible to create financial abundance for myself?
Once you become aware of your thoughts, feelings, and beliefs about money, you can start making conscious choices about how to use the resources you have and create more financial wellbeing for yourself. You’ll learn when you’re telling yourself the truth or when it’s just a story.
Your thoughts about money have a powerful impact on your health and wellbeing. Are they helpful thoughts that will help you move forward and live the life you really want?
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I’d love to hear from you so please send any comments or questions to me at sharon@sharonashtonmindfulyoga.com. Feel free to share this email with anyone else who may be interested.
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"I felt at complete ease with Sharon from our first conversation. She has a wonderful, gentle but firm way that made me focus on my thoughts / feelings so I could remove / change to move forward with a completely different feeling to what felt like obstacles. It was great having regular coaching that gently kept me accountable to actioning and moving towards my goals. Sharon has vast experience in so many areas, I felt that makes her an amazing coach.”
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