Step 1 to Financial Freedom: Tell the Truth About Money.
If you want to walk the path to financial freedom, you need to take control of your personal finances. How do you begin to do that? The first step is to tell the truth about money. What is money anyway? We know it doesn’t buy happiness or love or health (read related article on Money and Happiness here). It isn’t scarce even though most people seem to think it is. It isn’t a measure of how brilliant or talented you are. Money is simply a tool, and the way you handle it reveals a lot about you. Like any tool, it can be used for good or evil. The subject of money is an emotionally charged one for most people. It is still a taboo topic for many and often people feel uncomfortable talking about their finances or their financial situation.
First, take a few minutes to consider your money beliefs. Our beliefs are the source of our actions, and our actions determine what we get out of life. If you aren’t happy with your financial situation, the first place to look is your beliefs. Fill in the blanks:
I believe money is…
My greatest problem with money right now is…
One of the ways I manage my money well is…
Financial success means…
If I could change one thing about my relationship to money, it would be…
If I had all the money I could ever want, I would be…
The biggest change I would like to make in regards to managing my money would be…
My parents taught me that money is…
Limited beliefs create limited finances.
If you believe you have to work hard to make money, you probably won’t have an easy time getting rich.
One of my coaching clients, Miranda, believed that money was evil. She would never have said so directly, but she associated having lots of money with all that she didn’t like about the country–greedy, corrupt, fat-cat bureaucrats, and right-wing politicians. I wasn’t surprised to find that she not only had no savings but also had racked up quite a bit of debt and frequently bounced checks. Thinking that money was inherently evil, she naturally avoided having anything to do with it. Even though loads of money had come her way, she quickly spent it or frittered it away.
Once Miranda uncovered her hidden beliefs about money, she decided to change them. She decided that money was simply a tool, and she could use it to do good things in the world. As a result, she began to change her behavior. And she started paying off her debts, opened a savings account, and even learned to balance her checkbook. She was on the road to financial independence.
Common expressions such as “filthy rich,” “Money is the root of all evil,” “It takes money to make money,” “Money can’t buy you love,” or “Money can’t make you happy,” “Money isn’t everything,” “The best things in life are free,” reflect the negative or limiting beliefs many have about money.
Write down all the beliefs you have about money, and then write down the new, empowering beliefs you would like to replace them with.
New beliefs such as, “I enjoy my money, I am grateful for the money I have, I have enough money to be generous and do great things.” Shifting your beliefs from limiting to expansive is the first step toward financial freedom. But take heed, positive affirmations alone do not automatically create wealth. Read the related article, Break the Cycle of Negative Thinking: Why Positive Affirmations Don’t Work and What to do About it here.
If you really feel stuck in a bunch of limiting beliefs you just can’t seem to shake, you may want to work with one of our accredited Life Coaches to shift them. It is painless and the benefits are immense.
Enjoy!
Talane
Read the full tip in Coach Yourself to Success: 101 Tips to Accomplish Your Personal and Professional Goals by Talane Miedaner published by McGraw-Hill Copyright © 2014
