You may have read the book THE SECRET several times and have mastered the theory behind the Law of Attraction and yet you are still struggling in inviting money into your life. Could it be because you are inviting money but at the same time closing the door for it? You may not be aware of the locks you have put in place that keep the door for your prosperity locked — your limiting beliefs about money. Here are some of them:
- “Money is the root of all evils”. Make this correction in your mind: the insatiable greed for money is what is evil—not the money itself. In fact, even if you do not physically have money, you could still commit evil when you resort to illegal or dishonest ways to obtain it no matter what. When you are thinking this way towards money, you chase t away because you make it unwelcome into your life.
- “Money and luck go hand-in-hand”. By associating the acquisition of money with luck makes it impossible to have. This is because the odd of getting it by sheer luck is 1 in 13,983,816 (this is based on algorithmic studies). In fact, you have a much greater chance of getting run over by a car on your way to buy a lotto ticket than winning it. Entertaining this mindset makes acquiring money beyond your reach. Your thought becomes you reality.
- “It is just money”. This expression shows your lack of serious interest in money. As such, you tend to disregard it. You are not expected to, nor should you, worship money but at least show it the respect it deserves. Money may not buy you complete happiness but at it enables you and your family live your day-to-day life in relative comfort, helps you meet your financial obligations, money makes you enjoy some pleasures and luxuries, sees you through some medical emergencies, etc. For these blessings made possible by money, the least you can do is to show your appreciations by respecting it so it respects you in return.
“Wanting of more money is selfishness”. Remember that money symbolizes the value of things or services so when you want to acquire more of it, you merely show how appreciative you are of the values of things or services money offers. As long as you do not steal or usurp it from others, what is wrong in wanting to experience more the comfort and joy money can provide you? You have the right to enjoy the fruit of your labour without denying others the same privilege. Often, those who associate money with selfishness are those who do not have it so out of envy, they try to instil guilt among those who have.
- “Money is only made to be spent”. However, this expression is not complete. The word “judiciously” should be added to it to make it sensible. It may be true that money should be spent but see to it that it buys things and services that give back value to you and to others. It can be used to grow your business and give employment to others. Money can be used for charity works, to build schools, hospitals, or finance inventions that will benefit millions of lives.
Also, espousing this belief ignores the truth that you have to save money to create prosperity. If you spend all the money that comes your way instead of saving and investing it, you are likened to a pocket with holes in it. The saddest part in living this way is to feel the remorse and regret at the end when everything is too late for you to rectify your senseless spending.
- “Scrimping on money is the way to get rich”. If you go on with this belief about money, you are sure to end up a miserable miser. You never give yourself the chance to taste the joy your money could have given you. Before this sad time comes, discard the idea of holding tight to your purse and hate to see every penny go. Money is not meant to be selfishly hoarded. Let it circulate and grow. Allow it to invite other money to join it. Instead of keeping your money imprisoned inside your vault where it may be devalued in time, let it out by investing it and see it multiply.
- “I’m not meant to be rich”. Says who? This limiting thought is usually rooted in a deeply seated lack of self-value and self respect. Everyone has the undeniable birthright to improve himself and his status in life. It is often you who is your greatest enemy in achieving financial success. Time and again, it has been proven that family status, education or lack of it, or physical attributes and skills have little to do with success in gaining wealth. Many prominent personalities emerged from oblivion and amassed wealth despite their handicaps. Strong determination and motivation are the keys that open the treasure chest in your life.
“The rich get richer and the poor get poorer” is the rule and it is pointless to argue with the truth. This is just an expression concocted by those who are either too lazy or afraid to take responsibility for their sad status in life. This is their lame excuse not to persevere. By hiding behind this “truth”, they think they are off the hook. However, deep inside them, they feel miserable, not by their inadequacy to improve their lot, but their fear of facing and doing something about it. Adding to the misery of this thought is the fact that they do not have the financial abundance they secretly crave for. Forget this idea about the rich and the poor because it makes you lose the power to influence your own life. Instead, replace it with empowering thought like “I create my own financial reality and all I need to make it come true is already within me”.
- “I’m just not good with money.” This is one of those alibis that tries to justify laziness. No one is born good at anything—all skills are acquired and perfected by learning them, and these include the proper management of money. This has been proven by wealthy dynasties that ended up paupers because their descendants failed to manage their inherited wealth properly. Likewise, there are those you started penniless but manage to amass wealth due to their determination to learn their way to financial prosperity.
- “I was not born rich”. Do not be saddled by your past; rather, use it as a saddle to ride on. Do not make your being born poor an excuse but rather a challenge for you to be rich. In fact, learning why your family is poor can be a good lesson for you to learn from. You have your family’s blueprint to modify and improve on so you end up with the opposite outcome. Do not blame them but be guided by their failures so you will know what and how to avoid them to get better results. “My past is not my future” should your mantra in your pursuit for prosperity.
- “I have to work hard for the money”. This thought de-motivates you to pursue money so you do not get it. Although it is true that money does not just fall on your lap by just sitting down and daydreaming, you do not have to labour for it either. Change this limiting thought to “work smart, not hard”. One of the best modern mentors on how to do this is Erlend Bakke, the author the bestseller “You Will Never Work Again”.
If you entertain any of these limiting beliefs about money in your mind, it is not surprising that it has become very elusive to you. You may unknowingly blocking money from your life. It is high time that you discard them and allow money to find its way into your mind and into your life.