How to Rewire Your Brain for a Positive Money Mindset
Having a positive money mindset is tricky. If you want a better relationship with money, you need to rewire your brain.
‘I am a millionaire. I love being rich. Money always finds me.’
If you’re anything like me, these affirmations do not work. I am not a millionaire, I’m certainly not rich, and I wouldn’t be here if money came running into my pockets.
But it’s something I want to change.
So, I decided to start a money mindset journey.
I’m not talking about wishing I had money, telling myself I do and then slipping back into my old money habits. But digging into my brain and changing it for the better.
So, if you’re like me, tired of having stressful finances on your mind, then this is the article for you.
Begin With Writing Your Money Story
Your money story is exactly what it sounds like. What beliefs do you have about money, and where did they come from?
You develop core beliefs from your parents or whoever you grew up around. These could be good beliefs, bad beliefs or (in most cases) both.
Let’s say you have a parent whose money mantra is, ‘You’ll never make a living out of that.’
No matter how hard you try to pursue your dream career, your psyche is secretly whispering, ‘You know you’ll always be broke doing this, right?’
So, you give up easily or are afraid to try because you believe it’ll only lead to disappointment.
Maybe you indirectly heard negative money talk in your household. For example, a parent is worried about the bills and says, ‘We don’t have enough money!’ This is stressful for a child because you genuinely believe everything adults say when you’re young.
Don’t get me wrong, some families are on a shoestring budget, and they’re scraping to get by. This can generate fear because, growing up, money could have been the difference between eating and having a roof over your head.
For others, it’s a lack of money mindset.
A family might be fine for money, but they’re stretching the budget to afford luxuries. Because those luxuries cost more, they ‘don’t have enough.’
The problem is that when people talk this way, they will never have enough.
I’ve seen people who have landed a good chunk of money and can finally start working towards their dreams.
Only the bigger the dream, the more luxurious they tend to be.
You may have plenty of money to support your old life but not enough to support the new one.
It’s a vicious cycle.
So, the first thing step to rewiring your mindset is to identify where your limiting money beliefs come from.
- What were you told about money growing up?
- What do you feel when you think about money?
- How do people around you talk about finances?
These are all pieces to the puzzle you need to identify before changing how you think.
Recognise Your Negative Money Self-Talk
Nearly everyone complains about money. But this habit is a disguised socially acceptable form of negative self-talk.
People don’t realise that talking about finances using a lacking mindset harms your mental health.
Saying, ‘I don’t have enough money’ translates as ‘I am not enough.’
‘I’ll never afford that’ is another way of telling yourself, ‘I’m failing.’
‘That’s too expensive’ equals, ‘I’ll never live the life I want.’
If you had a friend that said these things in everyday conversation, ‘I’m not good enough, I’m a failure, my dreams are stupid,’ you’d grab their hands and say, ‘Wow there! Your brain is lying to you. That’s completely untrue.’
That’s what’s happening with a negative money mindset.
Your brain is lying to you about money.
So, what do you do? Challenge it. Catch it in its lie and tell yourself a different money story.
That’s too expensive = That’s luxurious.
I can’t afford that = I’m using my budget to…[e.g. live in my own place].
I don’t have enough = I’m directing my finances elsewhere.
Example of an internal money conversation
You see an item of clothing, look at the price tag and immediately think, ‘That’s so expensive! There’s no way I can afford that.’
Catch yourself and switch too, ‘That’s very luxurious, but I’m directing my finances towards living in a flat in the city.’
Which feels better? Which makes you feel like you have money, and which makes you think you have none?
By becoming aware of how you think about money, slowly but surely, you’re dragging your brain away from the negative path it’s so used to treading. Instead, you start pointing it towards a new and appealing money-positive route.
Now, let’s talk more about telling your brain how to think about money the right way.
Listen to Money Affirmations That Suit You
My face listening to affirmations because I’m better than everyone else.
I have a love-hate relationship with affirmations and especially with financial ones. They’re always so…unrealistic.
You listen to a guy in a grating accent telling you to repeat, ‘I love being a millionaire’ while you look around your grotty flat and cry every month when the bills come out.
To be honest, it’s infuriating and mean because you’re asking yourself to do something you’re not ready for.
It’s like graduating college and dropping straight into a massive company as CEO. While it would be great in the long run, at first, you’ll feel super stressed and overwhelmed.
You’d probably look around your skyscraper glass office in a panic, and when the phone on your desk rings, think, ‘What’s happening? I can’t do this!’
Does that mean you don’t want it? Of course, you do!
You would love to have generational wealth and be handed a company that was yours by birthright. That’s how super-wealthy people work, right?
But if you didn’t grow up in that culture, then your brain will FREAK. OUT.
So what do you do?
Take tiny incremental steps.
If you can’t listen to a statement that says, ‘I always find ways to make money’ without thinking, ‘I never do, I’m doomed,’ then backtrack.
The stage you need to go back to might be something other than money-related. For example, perhaps your belief that you can’t make money comes from a lack of self-esteem. So, start there.
The affirmation could be, ‘I am capable. I can go for jobs that scare me. I am brave.’ Or before that, try, ‘I am worthy, I am kind, I am going to be okay.’ Dip your toe in the water and see what sits right.
A great way to navigate bigger affirmations or ones your brain can’t believe is to listen to them while you sleep. It works because your conscious brain is turned off, but your subconscious is active.
You can still hear what you’re listening to and absorb the words. But instead of hearing, ‘I am rich,’ and your conscious brain immediately sassing back, ‘I’m absolutely not,’ your subconscious absorbs it.
No retort, no argument, it just…listens.
One way to listen to affirmations in your sleep is by using subliminal affirmations.
Subliminal affirmations are affirmations put under a soundtrack that’s at a higher volume, so you can’t consciously hear them. However, your brain still picks them up.
I tried these for a couple of nights, but to be honest, I wasn’t entirely convinced. There’s some internet chatter that YouTube doesn’t have the sound quality to transmit subliminal messages, and people have been caught placing negative affirmations in their tracks.
In a bid to avoid brainwashing, I’ve stuck with affirmations I can hear.
Manifest Money Using Visualisation
Manifesting and visualisation are confusing. Are they the same, or are they not? In a way, yes, they are the same.
Manifestation is like a toolbox. Inside are the tools you need to pursue your desires.
For example, affirmations are the wrench. Visualisation is the screwdriver. Scripting is a packet of nails…you get it. They’re all types of manifestation.
Visualisation is when you imagine what you want and make it real to you. But you can’t just see it. You have to imagine touch, sound, smell, and, most importantly, how it would feel.
Picture a white, sandy beach.
You’re lying on a beach chair. The turquoise sea is gently rushing in and out over the sand. It’s the only sound you can hear. You can smell the salt and feel the sun warming your skin.
You lie back and sigh, feeling a deep contentment in your chest. Doesn’t that sound lovely?
So lovely, in fact, that studies show people who look at pictures of a holiday feel more relaxed. Visualisation is powerful. But it also works the opposite way.
Some nightmares can feel so real that you wake up shaking and upset. It takes a while to remember where you are and convince your brain that you’re safe. But those nightmares aren’t real, so why do they feel it?
Because it’s a form of visualisation.
Let’s get into how you can use the visualisation technique for money.
Think about how much money you want, but don’t choose an arbitrary number like a million pounds unless it’s for a particular reason.
Maybe you want a million to buy a house in Malibu (I have no idea of the prices over there, but let’s roll with it).
Or maybe, you want five thousand because you’re saving to travel. Whatever it is, you need a reason behind it.
Some people go big and visualise a sh*t tonne, whereas others choose small amounts that seem feasible. It’s personal to you. Once you have the number, you can do one of two things:
1. Visualise what it would be like to receive that money.
2. Visualise your life when you already have the money.
For instance, receiving the money could be getting a notification from PayPal on your phone.
Imagine the sensation of unlocking your phone and opening the app. What is it like seeing those numbers in black and white on your screen?
Where are you? In your house, somewhere else? What can you hear and smell?
Now, and this is the non-negotiable bit, imagine how it would feel.
Is there a wash of relief from your chest that eases your breathing? Does your stomach do a backflip of excitement? And what are your thoughts?
‘It actually happened. This is real! Omg, I can’t wait to buy that tea set I’ve always wanted!!!’
The same goes for the second option. Where are you living, what are you doing, and what are your emotions and thoughts?
When you focus enough on your visualisation, you generate real feelings in your body. If you repeat the exercise again and again and again, your brain starts to believe it’s going to come true or that it already is true.
The best time to visualise is before falling asleep and when you first wake up because your brain is in the in-between zone of reality and fiction. You also need to be consistent.
Consistency is the key to everything.
Visualisation usually takes three-four weeks of practice to feel like it’s possible.
The other essential thing to remember is you don’t want to focus too much on how you will receive the money.
You’ll want to open up opportunities for money to find you, like applying for numerous jobs, starting a side hustle, selling your items, etc. But you don’t want to try and land 5K using a specific route.
Perhaps the money sidles up to you unexpectedly or comes to you from multiple sources. Either way, it gives you hope. And hope is a powerful thing.
Read Money Manifestation Books and Actually Do the Work
I am in love with Sarah Akwisombe’s The Money is Coming. It’s simple and gives you practical tips on how to start manifesting. But that’s the thing.
You can’t just read these things and then go about your day. You have to practice what you preach.
Complete the journal exercises and actually do the visualisation techniques.
Learning only gets you so far, and it’s not until you go out and do it that you get real-life experience.
You’ve also got to read a book that you enjoy. I remember trying to drag myself through Think and Grow Rich last year.
It’s a staple for all successful money-makers. It’s all about manifesting things into your life. But man, it was boring.
I was so focused on getting through the pages to cross it off my checklist that I didn’t take anything on board.
That doesn’t mean Think and Grow Rich won’t be right for you. But if you don’t enjoy what you’re reading, it will feel like a chore, and you’re far less likely to bother finishing, let alone implementing tips from the book.
Take Financial Responsibility
A lot of people’s money mindset revolves around control. Either going on a mad spending spree and feeling out of control or never relinquishing control by budgeting too tightly.
Neither of these options is the way to go.
You want to take financial responsibility by seeing how much debt you have or the bills you owe. These steps give you a healthy viewpoint on your money and what you need.
Budgeting and healthy spending are not only forms of financial responsibility but also teach your brain boundaries and compassion around money.
If you refuse to spend, even if you want to get an essential item or it brings joy, you’re punishing yourself. And that’s a negative relationship with money.
But wait! Isn’t buying things that bring me joy frivolous spending? Doesn’t that mean I’m not taking financial responsibility?
Not always.
You know you’re giving money away unnecessarily if you feel plagued by guilt after spending. However, if you set a budget, you tend to feel more calm and in control of your decisions.
A lot of people with control issues will feel guilt no matter what they spend because they’re stuck in the ‘lack of money’ mindset.
If this is you, you need to be logical.
- Is this an essential item?
- Have you wanted it for a while?
- Is it going to benefit you in the long term?
- Will the money you spend today financially break you or set you back a small amount in exchange for long-term gratitude?
If you continuously come up with reasons not to get something you truly desire or need, then you’re in a lack-of-money mindset.
Start Rewiring Your Brain for a Better Money Mindset
Doing this stuff is tough. It takes practice, and you’ll slip back into your old habits more than once. But you have to keep trying and trying. And trying.
If you’re struggling with one of the ways to rewire your mind, then look a little deeper into why that might be. But, over time, you’ll develop a positive money mindset.
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