We all went through childhood having at least one experience where something didn’t quite go as planned and money was attached.
It may have been that we didn’t get that birthday present we wanted one year, or the family vacation we were promised fell through, or an older sibling was constantly taking our allowance, or there was a time that the heat and electricity were turned off because the bills weren’t paid.
Translated in our developing brains, these moments turned into our Truths about money.
That one missed birthday present may have translated into never getting what one wants.
That one time the lights were turned off becomes the idea we’ll never have enough.
And these Truths, when not addressed, corrected, or discussed, became rules we live by.
Rules that have the ability to hold us back and prevent us from the BIG thing we want to achieve.
And money is especially problematic in this regard because we are actively taught to NOT discuss money matters. Which means we never address the rules.
So while we think we should be more versed in our finances or more in control of our money situation now that we are older, the truth is there’s a childhood lens we are still looking through.
What we concluded about money all those years ago (“I can’t have what I want.” “There’s never enough.” “I should only buy what I need.”) are the unconscious rules determining if we get to have money, how much we can make, and so on.
But they don’t have to be.
My challenge for us all is to think about how we engage with money now and to get curious about what childhood experience caused or reinforced this.
If we change our perceptions, we change our reality, and that includes what actually happens with our money.
Here’s the 3-2-1 on childhood money stories ruling our adult reality.
3 TRUTHS
- Our childhood experiences influence the stories we create around money. Left unchecked and unchallenged, those perceptions turn into the rules we then live by as adults.
- Changing our perceptions around money changes our reality with money.
- At the end of the day, the thing holding us back is not the money itself. Nor is it our systems and funnels. The thing holding us back is our perception.
2 ACTIONS
- Journal about some of your childhood memories where something didn’t go right and money was blamed.
- Identify what perception about money was created from that moment and whether that’s a rule you now live by that needs to be changed.
1 QUESTION
- What childhood experience is driving my decisions when it comes to money?
This money conversation continues on YouTube. Check out How One Experience Changed the Way You Think about Money to understand how your childhood experiences have shaped the money rules you now live by. Don’t forget to subscribe while you’re there!
My Procedures for Prosperity™ offers the deep dive look at your money stories that we all need when it comes to confronting our perceptions and changing our reality. If this is what you know you need next, then let’s talk. You don’t have to stay on that hamster wheel living out the old money stories again and again.
Get on my calendar here: https://bit.ly/chatwithjmb
To your impact and legacy,
