In a recent blog post on Attraction Mind Map Evelyn debunked negative myths about money that will likely limit your earning potential. These three resonated most strongly with me were:
- Money is the root of all evils
- Money is in short supply
- Spirituality and wealth are mutually exclusive
Though I consider myself a positive person, I’ve been holding onto negative ideas of money for years. I associated wealth with greed, desperation, and deceit, believing I’d be a better person if I only acquired what I need to survive. Fearing scarcity, I hoarded most of my earnings, and likely missed out on opportunities to invest in myself and my future. In negotiations, I rarely sought the salary I deserved for fear of appearing greedy which likely devalued me to employers. From my high-horse (which I got on sale) I felt evolved—fully satisfied with less in a world obsessed with more.
I still believe in the benefits of minimalism—and I’d challenge anyone who equates money with happiness—but I’ve broadened my perspective a tad. Prosperity, in itself, is not dangerous. It’s how we pursue and utilize money that gives it meaning, and how tightly we cling to it that determines its power over us. I may even go so far as to suggest that creating wealth can lead to abundance in other areas of your life. For example, generosity can strengthen relationships and altruism can fill you with a sense of purpose.
Since this is a new and exciting idea to me, I decided to pose a related question to the Twitterverse:
“Do you think your beliefs about money affect how much you earn?” Some responses included:
- @aimeeroo: Absolutely. If you think money is evil, you aren’t going to pursue it. Likewise if you see that $$ does good, you will go 4 it
- @RU_it_girl: Does it affect how much you earn? No, but it can affect how far that money goes.
- @Cathy_McCann: I think absolutely your beliefs affect how much you earn. Your beliefs set your limits.
- @weshopper: Absolutely, and they affect how much you keep as well.
- @NinaAmir: Ideas of scarcity just breed more scarcity.That’s the problem. Have to have ideas of abundance and prosperity.Not always easy.
- @ToyaSpringer: I totally believe that. It affects what type of job you have, how you perform that job, your ethics, and how you spend money
- @Knightfourteen: I think life beliefs in general help determin a lot on what someone can make.Like when to settle, climb higher,ambition, greed
While everyone seems to be in agreement that our thinking affects our choices which determine our capacity to create wealth, I’m still not sure what that looks like in actions—how positive money beliefs translate into smart financial habits. So I ask you: how do your beliefs about money affect how much you earn? Or phrased a little differently: can you think yourself richer? How?
Follow me @lori_deschene and get in on the conversation!
Further food for thought: What would being rich & happy mean to you? Contact @timbrownson for possible inclusion in his upcoming book.
By Lori Deschene, Photos elycefeliz, Steve Wampler
Related reading:
- 101 Negative Money Beliefs
- 21 Days to Positive Money Habits
- 21 Days to Negative Money Habits (companion post)
- Four Steps That Will Increase Your Earning Potential (all related to literacy!)
- The 7 Principles of Mindful Wealth
Great discussion you’ve started, Lori, and very important. Too many of us settle for less than we could have because we’ve been taught that it’s selfish. But in an abundant Universe, no one else is deprived because we are prosperous.
In his classic book “The Science of Getting Rich” Wallace Wattles said, “Whatever might be said in praise of poverty, the fact remains that it isn’t possible for us to live a really complete or successful life unless we’re rich…Everyone should have what they need to contribute to the power, elegance, beauty, and richness of life. To be content with less is sinful. The person who owns all they need for the living of all the life they are capable of living is rich.”
So if lack of money is preventing us from living our life fully and giving our gifts to the world, playing small instead of going all out, then it’s sinful to settle for that. And any belief that says otherwise is lying to us.
The Source is abundant and we are of the source so we in turn are abundant. The only thing stopping the money (energy) from flowing is out own noodles. There is nothing wrong with being a minimalist as long as you are not doing it because you feel you have to.
I think my thinking affects the way I make money. I always tell myself I’m not smart enough or talented enough to become successful and then I realized a lot of successful people are that smart or talented. They’re just a lot more cocky than I am! It’s kind of like a game. Like who you know and how you play your cards. Your thinking is your strategy like on that show Survivor. If you can outwit and outsmart you get ahead. Or something like that. Does that make any sense?
Wes~ Thanks for your comment! I love what you wrote about living fully and going all out instead of playing small. This particular lines resonates with me: “Everyone should have what they need to contribute to the power, elegance, beauty, and richness of life.” I still believe we as individuals need less than we think we do, but there’s no denying money gives us the power to create miracles.
Jay~ I’m curious how your thinking about money actually brings it into your life. How does your noodle increase the flow of money?
Liliana~ You make some great points. What we tell ourselves about our potential definitely influences how far we climb. Also, great analogy with Survivor. I agree that people who get ahead are often great strategists with the ability to influence other people. What defines their character is to what end they use that influence. The same for the wealth they acquire.
I think someone’s beliefs in general helps a lot to determine how much they make, thought some of it is a roll of the dice in life but that’s with everything. Like if someone is hardcore in believing dog-eat-dog, I think they are more likely to struggle their way up the ladder by any means possible to make a lot more money (Though they may be extremely unhappy). Also if a person believes to only take what is needed and nothing more then they might probably settle with just making enough to survive, though nothing is wrong with having only what you need if your happy with that, but they’d still be less likely to climb higher for the sake of earning more.
As far as how positive money beliefs translate into smart financial habits, that is a tough one. I personally enjoy having a computer, internet, cable TV, iPhone, etc etc, but I can also be perfectly happy with having a beer and watching some Three Stooges, or even a little bit of ice cream makes me happy, so it doesn’t too often take much for me to be enjoying myself, or to say it doesn’t take much money too often for me to enjoy myself. My personal belief is just try and be happy and help make other people happy if I can, which is pretty simple. Saying that, if it doesn’t take too much cash to make me happy, I think I am less likely to pursue climbing the ladder and making a lot more money, which sounds totally like me. I am also willing to spend more than I should sometimes at a food place (when covering my friends’ tabs) in order to just have a good time and not worry. I don’t really think that is a “smart” financial decision , at least not by people I know who are good at making “a lot” of money, but I don’t know if that’s enough to say if my decision is still a positive or negative thing. I guess I can say positive only because as long as I don’t end up broke and everyone has a good time, that might be all that really matters. It’s really hard to say if the outcome is good simply because I think of the money in a positive way like that, just having enough to be ok and help everyone also enjoy themselves, or I could just be going in a loop of nonsense. Maybe it’s not the outcome that changes depending on if you view money as positive as much as if you can view money as a positive maybe you can see the outcome as positive. Maybe?
Your noodle is where it all is. Your thoughts are energy, what you put out there is what you attract. If you think lack, you will attract lack. Your thoughts must always be thinking abundant in all aspects of your life. I will go on record and say the problem in the world right now is not about lack, it is about a society that is focusing on lack. The source is abundant. Think about this- when people win the lotto- 75% lose it all with in a couple of years- why? Because their noodles were still in the lack zone. While people like Trump go completely bankrupt, lose it all, and within months they are back in the game. There is a reason why I chose Inner Noodle as a name- I truly think it all begins and ends with our thoughts!
Lori, thanks for carrying on the discussion. It has been interesting to read more comments here generated about money beliefs!
Money alone cannot bring about happiness. It’s how we live our life that is far more important. Having money is not in itself bad. It’s how we attached we are to it that cause problems. If we choose to spend it on helping the poor and sick, wouldn’t we have put a good use to it?
Abundance is our birthright and can be in various forms. If we have no negative issues with regards to being abundant, the inflow of money or other forms of wealth is a natural consequence.
This issue you’ve hit on an really resonates with me…Its like how can I stay pure in thought and concentrate on the beautiful things in life when I have to think about how Im going to collect enough of this green paper to get to do the things I want and need..(like a trip to the ocean}..or time with family, or a new iphone lol just kidding..but it would really make my life more complete..right?{just kidding again}..But once you start thinking about it takes you to a different place.. I dont know the answer..Ideally none of us would ever have to think about it at all.. period…but that is not the world we are living in…
Mike~ Thank you for leaving your comment. Very thought-provoking, which I love! I agree with your conclusion: “Maybe it’s not the outcome that changes depending on if you view money as positive as much as if you can view money as a positive maybe you can see the outcome as positive.” For example, if I maintain this belief that I don’t need much, reason would dictate I will be happy with acquiring little. Of course now I’m thinking beyond what I need and wondering what I want–not money in itself, but all the good you can create with it.
Jay~ I think our society focuses on lack because it drives the consumer machine. If we collectively acknowledged abundance and our ability to claim it, there would be less of a sense of urgency/fear. Interesting about the lottery. I did not know that! You bring up a great point about Trump. He believes in his ability to create wealth, whereas most people think they “got lucky” when they get a big break.
Evelyn~ Thank you for inspiring this post! Your writing really challenged my thinking–which is the best gift I could ask for.
Tommy~ I’ve often felt the same way: that money is a necessary evil. Which brings us back to Evelyn’s post! They say follow your bliss and the money will follow, but unfortunately, this isn’t a given–which means we must actively pursue wealth to create it. If I’m focusing on earning more, I may take my eye off what I love. It’s a delicate balance, I guess. Anyways, thanks for commenting!
i’m a big believer in the power of positive thinking and creative visialization – that i’ll see it when i believe it. when i envision myself in situations i want to be in, such as doing meaningful work that i enjoy and being well-paid for it, i can feel the joy and satisfaction of being in those positions. those positive feelings inspire me to work toward my goals by giving me a taste of the payoff, which both reminds me of just why i want to achieve the objectives in question and helps me feel more positive in general, which, for me, is conducive to productivity. so yeah, experience indicates to me that where my head is at has a marked influence on the situations I create for myself, including how much money those situations produce.
oh, and regarding whether money’s a good or a bad thing, I view it like any other power: it can be used for good or for evil. the momentum you choose to put behind it is entirely up to you.
Lori,
Great article. I once felt the same as you did. However I realized that if I had money, I could help others. I am comfortable and really do not want or need material things for my happiness. But I have a sincere desire to help others. My mother told me when I was young that I would die broke because I always gave away everything I had. I don’t know if she meant that as a compliment, but now years later, I consider it as one. And guess what? She was right. That is how I plan to leave this world one day, not because I didn’t earn enough money, but because I used it for a better purpose.
Ron
Tiger~ Thanks for joining in the conversation! I’ve noticed my mental state has a profound affect on my experiences. I enjoy meditation and yoga because they clear my mind, allowing me to see the world without filtering it through stresses or opinions. It’s near impossible to be negative when you tap into that place of presence and mindfulness.
Ron~ Exactly! I have realized the same thing. I don’t really get much pleasure from acquiring things (because to me, more stuff just means more I have to maintain). But I love giving to other people, partly because it helps them, and partly because of how I feel when I do it. I hope to learn a bit more about your perspective on future posts