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Do You Feel That You Have Enough?
In psychology, money is what is called a "deficiency need." This
means that it only motivates you when you feel deficient in it, when you
don't feel that you have enough. Above a certain level, when you feel that
you have enough, it is no longer a motivator. Put another way, when you
have enough money, you don't think about it very much. But when you have
too little, you think about it all the time.
Determine Your Attitude Toward Money
The effect money has on your emotional life depends on your attitude toward
it. If you feel that you have too little, money can become an obsession for
you. It can dominate your thinking, feelings and actions. Arguments over
money are a major reason for marital breakdown. Problems with money are the
primary reason for business collapse, the ruination of friendships and
psychosomatic illnesses of all kinds. It's not uncommon for people to even
kill themselves over money problems.
Practice the Reality Principle
The Reality
Principle applies especially to matters of money. This principle states
that, "You must deal with life as it is, not as you wish it were, or
could be." Most people live in a world of partial self-delusion, or
even fantasy, with regard to money. They wish, hope, and pray about their
financial futures while at the same time, deep in their hearts, they know
their dreams will never materialize. In Lewis Carroll's book, Alice in
Wonderland, one of the characters says quite happily that he is quite
capable of believing several impossible things before breakfast each day.
In the same way, many people believe quite impossible things about money
and then they wonder why they are having so many financial problems.
Overcome Deep Seated Beliefs
One of the most common obstacles to achieving financial independence is a
deep-seated belief that somehow money is wrong and that people who have a
lot of it are inherently evil. This belief is not based on any factual
foundation. It goes back to early childhood conditioning when the growing
child is often told this because of other people's desire to rationalize
away their own financial failures.
Money Is Good
The fact is
that money is good. It takes money to buy homes, cars, clothes, toys, food
and most of the good things in life. Money has an energy of its own and it
is largely attracted to people who treat it well. Money tends to flow
toward those people who can use it in the most productive ways to produce
valuable goods and services, and who can invest it to create employment and
opportunities that benefit others. At the same time, money flows away from
those who use it poorly, or who spend it in non-productive ways.
Action Exercises
Here are two things you can do immediately to improve your attitude toward
money:
First, be
perfectly honest to yourself with regard to money and to the amount you
want to acquire in life. Pretending that you don't care about money when
you really do will only make you unhappy.
Second, begin
today to think about all the wonderful things that you could have in your
life if you had more money. Then, begin to think of all the things that you
could do to increase the amount you earn and the amount you keep.
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