Recorrecting your financial well-being by recorrecting your mental well being first
September 11th, 2009 by ALVIN SOONG
Most of the time, we want to be financially free or rich but the motivation to be rich is not even there. One reason is being too lazy to be rich. They may say they want to be rich but they don’t do much about it. While there are some who got rich by lottery or inheritance. We have to be realistic and realise that we must be prepared to put in the effort and make sacrifices. Self- defeating thoughts which may not be true include:
• Money is the root of all evil.
• Money cannot buy happiness.
• I’m married. My husband will take care of the finances.
• It is better not to be too rich. When men have surplus money, their eyes will wander. My husband will become unfaithful and leave me if we become wealthy.
• I’m a mother, so it is only right that the needs of my husband and kids come first. It’s not right for me to think of my own retirement needs.
• My financial plan is my husband/kids. Someone will take care of me when I’m old.
• I’m hopeless with figures. They give me a headache.
• The filthy rich usually get rich through ruthless or dishonest means.
Such thoughts which translate to our path of getting rich, can be done by changing our attitudes, behaviours and responses, and hence taking the right action plans to achieve our goals. A good place to start is to form positive mental pictures of who you want to be. Here are five steps to achieving financial success.
1. Firstly, throw out any self-beliefs that stand in your way of making money. It is worth your while to take some time and explore your childhood memories of money. Doing so will help you arrive at a deeper understanding of yourself and your attitude towards money.
2. Ask yourself what you want the money for. It helps if you have an idea of what you plan to do with the money. This is because it is more meaningful if money is seen as a means to an end. Perhaps you want to enhance the lifestyles of your parents who slogged all their lives to bring you up. Or you may aspire to be a philanthropist and set up many charities and foundations to help the poor and needy. Ask yourself how you want to use the money to transform yourself and the people around you.
3. Adopt new positive beliefs such as:
• It is okay to want to be rich.
• I am worthy and deserving of prosperity and love.
• I’m a mother but it is okay to prioritise my retirement needs and look out for myself.
• If I don’t look after my own financial well-being, no one else will.
• Money is a friend, not a foe.
• I can create my own financial destiny.
• I am prepared to put in the effort to be rich.
4. Form mental images of where you would like to be in the future. Eg., use pictures in magazines to prompt his workshop participants to talk about themselves by picking a picture that best represents their mood or emotion. Being able to visualise yourself and your goals is a powerful tool.
5. Changing your mindset is not enough, so have an action plan to help you achieve your goals. Be diligent in acquiring more financial knowledge by reading up about money management and investing. Get professional advice.
Have A Great Weekend!
Sources from Sunday Times , T Harv Eker and NLP books
