Habits of perpetually broke people

There is nothing much to write home about the status of the economy now. Most of us are barely surviving – being able to put a meal on the table for the family is slowly turning into a luxury. As we all look forward to ending this year which has been pretty hard for the better part of it, we hope 2020 will be different. If you are looking into stirring up your finances and having more money in your pocket next year, here a few things you need to consign in your mental dustbin.

I can’t afford it

We all have been in situations where we wanted something but some voice somewhere kept telling us we can’t afford it. People can actually ‘afford it’ a lot of the time, but the belief and expression that you can’t is common in our conversations. Imagine the difference it would make if more people started saying things like ‘how could I afford it?’, or ‘what kind of value would I have to create to be able to have that in my life?’ The phrase is an incapacitating declaration that shuts down all possibilities and resourcefulness. People stop thinking about how they can adapt or create more value, and where they can make a difference. That kind of ‘I am not able’ thinking keeps people broke.

I don’t have time

If you want to remain in a rut finance wise for the rest of your life, giving excuses on how time-constrained you are is a great excuse. We all have the same amount of time, different amounts of energy, and different priorities. It’s about where you put your time, not how much you have. Assess your situation. Do you know how to delegate? Do you know your priorities and how to prioritise? What distractions are taking from your time (dramatic friends, social media, unnecessary projects or taking on too many projects, etc)? When people believe it is all about hard work, they become addicted to busyness and make the mistake of choosing activity over productivity. Hard work and the wrong philosophy doesn’t create wealth, it creates limitation. 

If you want something done right you have to do it yourself.  

This happens when people lack trust in others, don’t spend time with the right people, or don’t have the skills to hire properly. If you want something done right, find someone who can do it better, especially if it is something that drains you. This is a jack-of-all trades, master of none type mentality. This is working hard, yet not doing what you do best. This limits the possibility of building something substantial due to constraint. 

Complaining

Broke people complain. People, politics, money, and just in general. Don’t get wrapped up in a conversation about what’s wrong, but rather look for ways to be a part of a solution. This is a big difference between the wealthy and the broke. It’s not that wealthy people don’t complain, or that there’s never a time they don’t know something, or that they don’t ever feel like they don’t have time for things. The wealthy just have a different way of seeing it and asking the questions, and then they commit to a different conversation. To fix a habit of complaining you have to know your value. This will give you the power to preserve your time and focus on what you can do over what you don’t have control of. You are in the driver seat of your life, you’re the author. When you are in control, there’s nothing to complain about.

Most importantly for changing your way of thinking from broke to wealthy is to know what we like to call your soul purpose. These are your values, abilities and passion all geared towards your highest ideal for living. This is your purpose and vision. The more insight you gain into your soul purpose, the more wealthy your mind and life will become.

He/She is so lucky and I am not

We all have different thoughts on what wealth is, right? Some people think wealth is a game of luck. They might say that someone else was just lucky, or that it’s the family they were born into, or how they just met the right person. That’s the scarcity mindset, the greatest destroyer of wealth. Thinking with scarcity puts people in a survival mindset and comes with the belief that the game is always rigged, always making them think about what others are doing right or wrong, instead of what they can do for others. Most people today are not rich by circumstances of birth, marriage, prize money, or any other kind of luck. Just so you know, according to John Bowen, 92 per cent of people worth more than Sh500 million today own a business.

Blaming others for your failures

You must have come across people who have excuses and always have someone to blame for their failures.

And you will rarely meet unsuccessful people who take ownership of their lives and responsibility for their lack of success. If you want to join the one percent, then quit complaining about how your parents, your boss, and the world are all trying to screw you. Instead, focus on how you can succeed regardless of external circumstances. Other people have had it worse than you and built an incredible life. Take responsibility for your life, and you have the power to achieve whatever you want.