Wondering how to overcome a poverty mindset? If you feel as though you are not good enough, avoid situations where you spend money and always look at price tags before you buy, you could have a ‘poverty mindset’.
A poverty mindset isn’t just being frugal and living to your means. It’s something which holds you back in life wherever you go. It has taken over your whole way of being and can be rooted in early development and belief systems of not being good enough.
So what do you do if you feel like you have a poverty mindset? How can you change it to become more confident, take more chances in life and develop a greater sense of health, wealth and well-being?
How To Overcome A Poverty Mindset – Developing A Poverty Mindset
If you’re always conscious of everything that costs money, it might be just because you’re being careful with money. But at what point does being frugal become a poverty consciousness? Maybe you’re being frugal for a reason? After all, “money doesn’t grow on trees” right? If you find yourself saying things like that, you could be harbouring a poverty mindset. Most of our behaviour comes from the programming we received in the first 10 years of our life. That means it’s usually from our parents.
In the first 10 years of your life, your conscious mind wasn’t fully developed and you didn’t have the capacity to reject ideas you didn’t believe. So everything went through into your subconscious mind as fact.
Let’s not start blaming here, your parents did their best to raise you. But nobody’s perfect. Your parents might have had a number of things they said about money. And perhaps it was true, for them, at the time. If you repeatedly heard phrases which suggest a limiting belief around money that’s the first place to look:
- Money doesn’t grow on trees
- Rich people are greedy
- Money is the root of all evil
- I don’t care about money
- Money isn’t important
- The rich get richer and the poor get poorer
- You can’t take it with you (money)
- Rich people are selfish
- You need to work very hard to be wealthy and become a miser
- It is easier for a camel to enter the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven
The list goes on but you get the point. If you know any of these expressions, or say any of them, it’s pretty likely that they will have instilled some limiting beliefs regarding money into your consciousness. Knowing your old patterns of thoughts is a key how to overcome a poverty mindset. Once you understand your thinking, you can change it. See also manifesting abundance affirmations.
How To Overcome A Poverty Mindset – Watching Your Speech
Another way to determine how you view money, and spending money is to listen to how you speak about money. Is there always enough, or do you struggle. Listen out for emotive words around the idea of money.
If things are difficult around the subject of money start paying attention to how you view money. The simple exercise of watching your speech for a week or two can help you become more aware of your thoughts, words and ideas around money, wealth, poverty and who you think your are in relation to all of those things. More than likely this is a symptom of some beliefs you have about money which are deeply engrained in your way of life and thought processes.
Don’t attempt to change any of these ideas yet. Remember that you will have held these ideas for a number of years – probably since childhood. It will take some time to alter your perception around money and loosen the grip those beliefs have on you.
Using Positive ‘Money’ Mantras
Once you become more aware of the way you talk to yourself about money, you are better prepared to tackle your unconscious belief system. In Napoleon Hill’s book Think and Grow Rich he states that the thoughts which are permitted to remain in the conscious mind sow the seeds which will be reaped by the subconscious mind. These thoughts become deeply held beliefs and lead to circumstances in your life.
A positive money mantra is a good way to start reprogramming your subconscious mind for more wealth. Whenever you catch yourself saying something negative in regards to money, stop and take note. This is your programming and leads to more poverty. Say your new mantra instead. Keep in mind that years of programming won’t be changed overnight. This will take consistent upkeep and vigilance if you really want to change your poverty consciousness.
Clearing Old Attitudes
Our incessant inner chatter is another clue as to whether we are manifesting our dream life or reliving past events, and running old programs. It will also show you some revealing beliefs if you pay attention.
One way to observe your inner dialogue is through meditation. Sit in a comfortable position and focus your eyes on a point in front of you. Start by counting from 1 to 5. Once you get to 5, go back and start at 1 again. You’ll soon notice your mind is trying to distract you. Just notice what comes up and go back to your counting and focus. The more you do this, the better you’ll get at it.
If you notice your inner dialogue and enter into a conversation with it, you’re no longer in the moment. Notice this and return to the practice. If you can sustain this exercise for 5 minutes at first, and then extend it over time, practicing every day, you’ll soon become more aware of the inner dialogue which runs in your consciousness almost non-stop throughout your day.
Developing New Money Mindsets
If you’ve been telling yourself how undeserving and unworthy you are for years, it will take time to undo some of this old programming. Be patient and considerate with yourself as you notice these patterns of thought. It’s huge progress when you notice what is going on inside. Your self image is a powerful force in your life too, and you have spent a lifetime developing it. If you want to change it, you’ll need to take some time.
Read Maxwell Maltz’s Psycho-cybernetics on self image and there’s a few other books on the subject of how our thoughts affect our lives here too.
As you develop new, positive attitudes towards creating money and having money, your life will change because you won’t be pushing money (and opportunities) away due to a negative poverty consciousness or a negative self image.
Try replacing old, negative poverty conscious beliefs such as:
I’m never good enough, rich people are greedy, money isn’t important etc.
with new more encompassing ideas which help the flow of money towards you rather than away from you:
I am always good enough, rich people are generous, I choose prosperity etc.
Here’s some free resources to read: Think and Grow Rich, The Science Of Getting Rich, Working With The Law, The Magic Of Thinking Big. As A Man Thinketh.