3 Attitudes That Prevent You from Reaching Financial Freedom
A financial analyst and personal business consultant with 20 years of experience, Dorothy Clark talks about the habitual attitudes that prevent us from getting rich and gives tips on how to fix them.
1. Stability = Safety
Actually, there's nothing wrong with being sustainable and confident in your tomorrow. People often call it a comfort zone, but it's not always the thing it seems to be. Sometimes you may find yourself getting bogged down but fearing to take any steps toward changing your life. Stability isn't always a term used for something great and safe. It can refer to our fears of changing our lives and getting out of our "swamp." As we often think that a bird in the hand is worth two in the blush, we prefer to have what we have instead of striving for more. Simply put, we believe that any changes lead to the worst scenario. This is the easiest way to justify your inaction.
How to Fix It?
To make it easier for you to take a brave step, prepare a financial cushion in advance. It will help you feel safe for the time it takes you to get comfortable in a new area you want to learn. Also, try to look at a situation from the future as if you're already succeeded in it. It will help you become more determined to the idea that anything is possible.
2. Careless Consumption
Purchases that an average shopaholic makes are usually useless as this habit has only one function – give yourself a feeling that you're alive, love yourself, and still have some desires. Unfortunately, it's not about a healthy relationship with yourself and money. Very often, shopaholism compensates for the lack of a goal in life to invest in. It gives shopaholics the illusion that they are spending their earnings on themselves.
How to Fix It?
To understand the reasons for this behavior, you need to catch the moment when the desire to buy something appears and ask yourself a couple of questions. Why do I want this now? Why should I leave the store with a purchase? Does it make me happy? Am I rewarding myself this way? Or maybe I compensate for the lack of something in life? Once you determine the reason, set a limit, a fixed amount you can spend per week, and try to stick to it.
3. Comparing Yourself to Others
All of us tend to compare ourselves with other people, but there is a fascinating detail that can make you look at the situation from another angle. Often we treat a person who has less money than we have with our condescension but feel envious of those with more money. From this point, we begin to set fake goals that were brought into our lives by people who are our role models.
How to Fix It?
You need to realize that by comparing yourself to other people, you're wasting your life energy focusing on someone else's life instead of improving yours. If you have the desire to buy the same thing as the other person, try to find out whether it's really the one you want. Are you envious? Are you trying to prove something to others? If yes, you may need to work on self-esteem in order to fix it.