Does a poverty mindset hold you back from the life you desire? If you feel like you’re never enough, and you never have enough, you might have some limiting beliefs which are holding you from the life you deserve.
What are limiting beliefs? Limiting beliefs are those ideas you have which stop you from taking action in a positive direction in your life. In terms of a poverty mindset they might be things such as:
- Money is the route of all evil
- Rich people are greedy
- It’s unspiritual to want more
- It’s more virtuous being poor
- I’m never enough
- I’m always broke
- I hate money
- I can never get ahead
- All the good jobs are taken
- I can’t afford it
- etc.
If you’re holding on to an identity of always being broke, or of never being enough, no amount of effort on the outside can compete with this inner saboteur to your success. At some point, your inner voice will kick in with it’s limiting ideas and scupper your best intentions. So it’s far better to uncover your beliefs which hold you back and change them, than to struggle on only to self sabotage later.
Does A Poverty Mindset Hold You Back From Building A Profitable Online Business?
In terms of building an online business which is profitable, a poverty mindset can hold you back in multiple ways. You might be sceptical of purchasing a training course, for example, because you believe you can’t afford it. Or it might stop you buying something you need to grow your business, such as an email autoresponder. (Get one free here).
In my early years as an affiliate I avoiding buying anything because I had so little money to spend. Money was genuinely a concern for me and I had a poverty consciousness too which meant I perpetuated the situation. I tried to do everything on the cheap and struggled as a result, avoiding getting proper training and support, and buying the tools I really needed for success.
A limiting belief might stop you from taking action on an opportunity, or from taking a certain action. But it can also sabotage your efforts more subtly too. Imagine that half of you genuinely wants to succeed and earn a good living online, while the other half secretly hates the very idea of money, and finds it repugnant. How do you think that will play out in your life and your business?
Does A Poverty Mindset Hold You Back? – Self Image/Identity
Your self image or identity becomes a solid foundation of your world view. The world can be a scary place without something to hold on to. For many people a large piece of their world view “jigsaw” is their identity. How you see yourself in the world can give you something solid and tangible to “hold on to” particularly in tough times.
However, if this identity is wrapped up in hatred for money, and conflicting ideas which push money away from you, you’ll act out these beliefs in your life, creating obstacles for yourself which reflect those beliefs.
In a recent coaching call I had with one of my subscribers, it became apparent that there were more than a few conflicting ideas around the topic of money. No wonder they were having trouble building their online business when there was a distinct hatred of the green stuff.
If you harbour negative ideas towards money it will have massive affect on your ability to create it, spend it and keep it, however you attempt to earn it.
How To Shift Your Money Mindset Towards Abundance
The opposite of lack or limitation is abundance and plenty. Think about your current situation and you should have an idea about whether you are living in limitation or in abundance. The reality you’re presented with today, comes from your thoughts about money, lack, limitation and abundance and plenty.
Why do you think you are not living the life of your dreams in terms of financial stability/abundance yet? What are the reasons for your current reality? Often a lack of money stems from a history of lack. If you’ve grown up with parents who have struggled, chances are good they have likely shared their views on money, the wealthy/rich and poverty. Perhaps some of your limiting ideas around the subject come from your childhood and growing up with lack and limitation?
Often limiting ideas are unconscious beliefs which have a powerful control over your life without your knowledge. As is often quoted from C.G Jung ‘Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.’
The first step towards shifting a poverty consciousness is therefore to make your limiting beliefs more conscious.
“The Word Became Flesh” – Watch Your Words
John 1:14 – “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us”. Are you talking money away from you saying things like “I can’t afford”, “I can never get ahead”, “Money doesn’t grow on trees” and other such ideas?
From your words becomes your reality and you are speaking life into your reality through your choice of speech. Notice in particular how you talk about money, work, the rich/wealthy and ideas relating to you own financial well being.
If you are negative towards yourself too, this can be an indication that you are speaking against yourself and negating yourself. “I’m never good enough”, “I don’t deserve it”, “Why don’t things ever work out for me” etc.
As you start to uncover some of your negative programming, you can turn these ideas slowly around to be more positive.
Mantras For Success And Abundance
When you notice yourself talking money away, or negating yourself with your words, stop and pay attention. Those are the key learning moments for you to alter your self talk and speech patterns.
Replace negative ideas with more positive counterparts which are more in line with what you want to create:
- I’m never enough – I am enough
- Money doesn’t grow on trees – money comes easily and frequently
- Why do I never get ahead ?- how can I get ahead ?
- It’s no use – where there’s a will, there’s a way
- Rich people are greedy – rich people create opportunity/are generous
- Money is the route of evil – Money is neutral, the actual quote (from the bible) is “the love of money is the route of evil” – (or greed)
1 Timothy 6:10: For the love of money is the root of all of evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
By shifting your unconscious ideas about money which talk it away from you, to more positive and life affirming ones, you can radically change your unconscious saboteurs to success. Use new mantras in place of your limiting ideas which often come up in conversation (or in your mind) when the topic of money comes up.
Summary
A poverty mindset can act like a hidden “saboteur” in your unconscious mind. It shows itself with ideas like “I’m never enough”, “I’ll never have enough”, “I can’t afford it”, “It’s unspiritual to want money”, “It’s noble to remain poor” and similar limiting ideas.
If your unconscious mind has some limiting beliefs they can sabotage your best efforts to move forwards in creating the life you want. There’s a payoff for remaining in your same situation such as a consistent world view and identity. Less conflict with your circle of influence (family and friends). You get to sustain the status quo and don’t upset the applecart between unspoken conflicts of interest.
If your financial situation changes, it can change many relationships, for example. Your unconscious mind might be battling with your efforts to improve your finances because of your self image, for example, or to remain “equal” to your circle of friendships on financial terms.
To change things on the outside you must change them from within. This might involve looking into your past and uncovering some trauma from childhood too.
Access my eBook Shift Your Money Mindset below: