Day 5 : Recognizing negative convictions and letting them go

Convictions are fixed beliefs about yourself and the world. They often stem from childhood, functioning as GPS coordinates of sorts, influencing our actions. They are biology’s perfect tool for creating order and coherence in the brain, meaning that they are often surprisingly tenacious. There are positive and negative convictions. Positive ones have a supporting and strengthening effect; negative ones can slow us down and inhibit us. Examples of positive convictions are “when I need money, it finds its way to me” or “a good income is a great way to be appreciated.” Examples of negative convictions are “money spoils your character” or “I’ve never been good at managing money and that’s never going to change.”

Your convictions about money are part of your money mindset. And now it’s about recognizing and understanding your negative convictions. Which ones come to mind? What individual parts of your outlook toward yourself and money do you think of as irrefutable?

Identifying them is the first step if you want to change them. So acknowledge them – and be appreciative. Now why do that, if they inhibit you and stand in the way of progress? Because they were a good thing at one point. They guided you, had a purpose. Thankfully, you can break away from them now, as you don’t need them anymore. You can make peace with your old convictions. It’s okay that they were there, but something else is coming along now.

Time for something new

What should your new, updated relationship with money look like? And what are you going to do to get there? The application of the next concrete steps is going to be of interest in Course 3. That’s where you will see an overview of investment opportunities and all kinds of terms surrounding the topic of investing. But that’s not all. Perhaps your money mindset has already started to shift since you started this course.

There are three tools that can be helpful for transforming negative convictions into positive ones: focus, language, and body.

• Focus

“You just don’t talk about money” – do you recognize that from your childhood? But how can you establish a good relationship with something that never gets mentioned? Do a little test with the people in your circle and find out who is happy to talk about money, salary, retirement funds, or investments. Also make a promise to yourself to deal with your finances regularly from here on out. It might make you uncomfortable – and the goal here is to change just that!

• Language

Have you ever stopped to think about how you talk about money? We have a ton of words for money: bucks, dough, cheddar, paper, lettuce, moolah, loot, cabbage, smackers, green… These terms reflect a relationship to money – and it’s not exactly flattering. Listen to the way you and those around you talk about money. With disdain, with annoyance…or maybe not at all?

• Body

Perhaps surprisingly, your body is also a helpful tool for getting to another place in your mind. First of all, your body is a huge blessing, when you think about all the amazing things it can do. You can celebrate your body for that or at least be grateful for all of its capacity. Whether you do that with healthy food, certain clothing, or high-end products is your own choice. Your attitude will change almost automatically – mentally, but also in your posture. You are a rich, beautiful woman, and it shows.

These three tools also come into play with affirmations. Affirmations are targeted, positive convictions that allow us to take on a positive attitude through conscious speech. They support and empower you in the transformation of your money mindset and help you reach your goals. You’ll see how it works tomorrow.