WHAT are Limiting Beliefs and WHERE do they come from? (About Money)

A limiting belief about money is any thought that sets a limit on the amount of money you can make. Your beliefs are shaped by relationships, how you were raised, and your life experiences with family or friendships. You may have been told as a child “money doesn’t grow on trees.”

This statement would plant in your subconscious mind the idea that there’s only so much to go around — even if it was simply your dad saying you can’t have ANOTHER snickers bar.

These limiting beliefs will keep people from taking action because they don’t believe anything good will happen when they try something new. They think,

“What if I do all this work and still end up where I started? Why bother trying again?”

Over time, these beliefs become our own.

Here’s an example:

Have you ever failed a math test, or got laughed at while dancing, and then said something like “I’m not good at math” or “I have two left feet and would never make a good dancer”? These are examples of limiting beliefs that put you in a corner of your own making and often falsely define who you are. This could apply to how you perceive your skills, the interactions you have with other people, or even how you assume you are being perceived.

Where do limiting money beliefs come from?

There are 3 primary ways through which we develop self-limiting beliefs around money:

Our family or friends

- This often happens through what we are told (remember, “Money doesn’t grow on trees,” or being told in church that “Money is the root of all evil”?) as well as through the behavior we see modeled.

- As children, we look to our parents for guidance about how life is supposed to be lived so they are also often those that teach us ways of thinking about ourselves. If one’s parental figures were unable to provide financially for them at times then it could lead that person to have feelings of inadequacy when it comes to finances which can result in limiting beliefs around money.

Experience

- We can also develop limiting beliefs through experiences. A person who has experienced a difficult financial situation, such as an injury or job loss, may then start to believe that they are unable to make money and will continue the pattern of not being able to earn enough for themselves in the future which could lead them back into bad habits like spending too much on unnecessary items.

Thoughts

- Another way we create these limiting beliefs is through our thoughts — if you think it’s true then you’ll end up reinforcing your belief about yourself. For example: “I’m just not good with numbers” leads one to avoid math classes and therefore never be challenged by those subjects which reinforces this idea in their mind.

Most beliefs are formed unconsciously. The beliefs we hold comprise the fabric of our experiences and make us who we are.

The stronger the belief, the harder it is to rethink or create new habits to shake a belief that no longer serves us.

Beliefs are formed through repeated thoughts we assume to be true. How often have you tested your assumptions or questioned your beliefs?

As an entrepreneur, our beliefs are magnified — which becomes a problem if we don’t upgrade those thoughts to more empowering ones.

This was an excerpt from an article titled:

Your Money Script: Is a Limiting Belief Holding You Back?

Read the rest of this article by clicking here