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Wealth. Defined by Merriam Webster as the abundance of valuable material possessions or resources, abundant supply. Synonyms of the word wealth include: capital, fortune, means, assets, riches, wherewithal, worth.
I want to zero in on the last synonym — worth.
Many may aspire to become rich, in terms of financial assets, income and certain material possessions. So do I. However, I am more concerned with growing my mental fortitude, in order to cultivate the level of wealth I want to achieve. In the past I looked at the concept of wealth from a narrow perspective, in that I was focused on the mechanics of building wealth.
More recently, I realized that although my husband and I have achieved some important milestones (consumer debt free, owning a home, savings & investments, paying for cars in cash, having greater peace of mind, spending more time with loved ones & able to assist our family, becoming an entrepreneur), I had not given enough credit to my self-worth. The belief that I have sown in myself over the years is the fundamental reason I have an ever growing net worth.
Coming from a religious upbringing, I was told that it is wrong to want to have a lot of money, that money is evil and that I should be content with whatever I have or am given. Inadvertently, I had been taught to live with a mindset of scarcity. To compound matters, being a person of color and growing up in a low income household, the notion of wealth was never a serious consideration, except for winning the lottery. The racial and socio-economic dynamic is a whole other post and I intend to delve into this subject matter further.
To be clear, of course I should be and I am grateful for what I have. That said, living just to get by never sat well with me. In my twenties, I went about minding my money the wrong way in that I was living for today and not leveraging my income in order to build assets. The ingredient that I was sorely missing back then, more so than financial education, was self-esteem and the belief that I was worthy and capable of more.
Once I made the emotional connection between my self-worth and net worth, the game changed and I began to experience progress and prosperity in my finances. My initial efforts were full of spurts and sputters, taking one step forward and sometimes five steps back but I kept at it. With time, I began to witness a profound change in the way I valued myself and I embraced the fact that I deserved to be successful.
Have you been operating with a mindset of scarcity that is holding you back from your potential in some aspects of your life? I encourage you to consider the idea that it is OK to want to be wealthy! What you and I consider to be our “enough” will be different and how you arrive at that is very personal. There is nothing or no one that you need to measure up to, in order to define what you consider wealth.
Below, I list out the principles I operate on to grow a mindset of wealth. I challenge you to outline on paper how you really feel about money, what beliefs you have surrounding it that is not serving you, and how you can change your mental narrative.
7 TENETS FOR CULTIVATING A MINDSET OF WEALTH
- I believe that I deserve to be wealthy.
- I know why I want to be wealthy.
- I believe that it is good to be wealthy.
- I refuse to allow past mistakes to deny me the right to be wealthy.
- I know what it takes to be wealthy.
- I know how it feels to be wealthy.
- I will encourage and educate others to be wealthy.
To those who are struggling to stay financially afloat; can’t pay their rent or mortgage, can’t afford school fees for their children, at risk of losing everything you have worked for…I know that the concept of wealth is likely the last thing on your mind but I am speaking especially to you. Believing that you CAN do whatever it takes to create financial stability is exactly what first needs to happen. Financial stability serves as a pillar for wealth and it is built one thought and act at a time. It is possible and I am committed to helping you get there.
Written by Kassandra Dasent
