Expert: 5 ways to repair a 'broke' money mindset
Tomeka Lynch Purcell is a nationally recognized financial empowerment coach, mentor, speaker and strategic planner with over 15 years experience. She founded Credit Solutions Services, a credit and finance management firm, where she teaches women financial stability and wealth that encourages personal and financial assertiveness and evolution. Her website is loveyourscores.com.
The biggest problem associated with a “broke” mindset is the huge financial loss that comes with it. You won’t realize it, and it will make you spend your life struggling to make ends meet. People with a broken mindset are desperate to get rich and crave money because the ability to attract money and gain financial freedom is absent from their lives.
To reach your financial goal, you must follow the right path — which are many — as long as you have the right mindset. Here’s how to repair a “broke” or scarcity mindset.
Appreciation and gratitude
Most of our anxieties result from the belief that we don’t have enough of anything, especially in comparison to others. We believe that there won’t be enough of anything left for us if someone else has it. It leads us to criticize those who are successful in life.
Having such views is self-damaging. Instead, we should show appreciation to those who have achieved big things in life and get inspiration from their journey and life experiences. Apart from this, instead of worrying about what we don’t have right now, we should be thankful for what we do have.
Start focusing on the good things in life, and you’ll feel like life is getting back on track. Instead of believing that you don’t have enough, have an “abundance” mindset. The abundance mindset is all about believing that your life will turn out as you planned if you are following the right steps. If not as you planned, then close enough. Eventually, you will achieve your goals.
Simple steps you can take to practice gratitude is to write down five things daily for which you’re grateful. It will take your mind off the anxieties surrounding you and help you focus on the good things in life. This includes ideas and intuition to help you achieve your financial goals.
Create your own life
Another crucial step in repairing a broken mindset is to take responsibility for your actions and understand that life’s misfortunes are due to our negligence instead of blaming circumstances all the time. When we start living in our comfort zones and don’t take the required actions to resolve our problems, we lose control of our lives and let life happen to us.
Having the belief that you can create your own life encourages you to take action, which will put you on the path leading to your desired destination, whether it be success, fame, wealth, or finding the love of your life.
Stop believing that you are a victim of all misfortunes and know that everyone — literally everyone — has problems in life. These problems are good for us. They help us grow and provide us with the motivation to do something about our situations. Therefore, take charge of your life and fight your problems with courage. That’s what William Ernest meant when he wrote: “I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul.”
Focus on opportunities
One of the primary reasons many of us are under financial stress is because we focus on hurdles instead of focusing on opportunities. Many of us want to start our own business, but somehow while planning to launch our startup, we get distracted and start focusing on the obstacles coming our way. What if I fail? What if I won’t be able to take the responsibility?
It hinders our growth and personal development. To be free from this constant fear of failure, we should focus on the opportunities that come our way.
Every problem you see in life provides you with an opportunity to solve it, whether it’s a need for a product, service, or a market gap that needs to be filled.
Consider UberEats, Grubhub, or DoorDash; these are all food delivery services. Someone realized that they could add value to people’s lives by delivering food from their favorite restaurants to them. A lot of grocery chains started offering door-to-door delivery services post-COVID-19. Instead of worrying about a decrease in sales, they focused on this opportunity and cashed in on it!
Focus on long-term goals
When you become shortsighted, you lose focus on your ultimate goal. One of the significant traits of broke-minded people is that they try to look rich instead of getting rich. As soon as they receive their paycheck, they spend it on unnecessary items, buying bigger houses and luxury items.
In his book, “Rich Dad, Poor Dad,” Robert Kiyosaki points out that you should focus on acquiring assets to get rich. Assets, according to him, are those that generate income for you. This can be a business, your investments in real estate, stocks, and bonds. In short, anything that produces a steady income appreciates or both.
When we start focusing on building assets, we are on the path of financial freedom.
Surround yourself with positive people
Finally, associate yourself with positive and successful people — those who can inspire and motivate you. You might have heard people say, “your network is your net worth,” or you become like the people you spend time with. Therefore, be careful who you’re spending time with. Stay away from negative and toxic people who will drag you down instead of bringing any positive impact in your life.
If you feel you are surrounded by people who always complain about life, misfortune, or the government's policies instead of helping you with your start-up, motivating you, or making you a better person, then change your circle.
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