The way we view things affects our lives dramatically including our relationships, our health and our financial status. Forty percent of our waking hours consist of subconscious second hand activities. That equates to the amount of two out of every five minutes per day, every day that we operate on autopilot. The way we think either negatively, positively, joyfully, gratefully,, sadly, richly or poorly develops into neural pathways stored in the basal ganglia, a mass of tissue the size of a small ball right in the limbic system which is located right in the centre of our brains. This is how our habits are formed. We can either dependent on how this part of our brain function is influenced, create bad habits that can keep us among other things in a financially lacking space or good habits that will drive us towards financial success and security. We become what we believe and so if we wish to be rich we need to control the negative forming thoughts and change them into positive ones. When a habit good or bad is formed and stored it can influence our everyday decisions and when the habit is a negative way of thinking it can spiral us into a negative way of looking at things and keep us from reaching our full potential.
THOSE THAT ARE RICH CONTROL THEIR THOUGHTS NURTURING POSITIVE HABITS
The myth regarding wealthy people is that they have either inherited a lot of money, won the lotto or come into money by means of very little effort. This is actually not the case. 86 percent of people who have a net worth of $1 million or more achieved it without a trust fund or inheritance according to a Fidelity Investments survey. Good money habits, a positive outlook which includes controlling negative thoughts coupled with strategic financial decisions are basic strategies necessary to achieve financial independence. Positive habits are the building blocks of success in life and that includes the goal of getting rich and staying rich. Brian Tracy who wrote ‘Million dollar habits: Practical, Proven, Power Practices to Double and Triple your income’ sums up just how vital it is to practice good habits and take responsibility for where you are in life and where you can be in your future. ‘You are where you are and what you are because of yourself. Everything you are today, or ever will be in the future, is up to you. Your life today is the sum total result of your choices, decisions and actions up to this point.’ he says. Your habits which are influenced by the way you think can be the main reason why you are either rich or poor. It can be that only a few habits separate those that are rich from those that eternally seem to struggle.
11 HABITS OF WEALTHY PEOPLE TO ADAPT TO ACHIEVE FINANCIAL SUCCESS
The good news is that anyone can work to build and adapt better habits into their lifestyle to improve not only their relationships, health and outlook but also to improve their finances. By implementing the habits of the rich into your life you can stop struggling financially and move toward a better financial future.
1. CONTROL YOUR THOUGHTS AND WORDS
An eternal negative mindset about how bad everything is will eventually manifest itself into reality. To break the habit of negative mind talk, try turning every negative thought into a positive (even if it is not the way things are) Gloom breeds doom and attracts unfortunate situations into our lives. After a while you can break the habit of negative thinking and change the neural pathways into ones of positivity that can only benefit your life in a number of beneficial ways including your financial situation. As with your thoughts the words we speak are very powerful self fulfilling prophecies. We can become so used to complaining and being negative about everything in our lives that we forget to be grateful for what we have and focus on the good things in our lives. Change the words you speak from negative to positive and your world and financial situation will also change. Instead of complaining that you have no money or times are hard or you won’t be able to pay a bill, or any number of other dark outcomes, exchange it for a positive of what you do have, what you can do and what you are grateful for. Eliminate ‘bad luck’ from your vocabulary. Those that struggle financially have a way of creating bad luck for themselves. Poverty Habits that are continually repeated and reinforced by the mind and mouth are like snowflakes on a mountainside. In time, these snowflakes build up until an avalanche of ‘bad luck’ descends in the form of a lost job, failed marriage, preventable medical issue or bankruptcy. Financially successful people through the good habit of controlling thoughts and words create good luck in the form of good health, happy relationships and a secure financial position.
2. CONTROL YOUR EMOTIONS
Wealthy people filter their emotions. They understand that letting emotions control them can destroy relationships both at home and work. It is important to practice control and wait until you are calm before confronting a situation to retain an objective overview. Fear is one of the most vital negative emotions to conquer. Whether you fear change, making mistakes, taking risks or failing, conquering these emotions is about building confidence in yourself. Life is always evolving and if we can embrace changes with a positive attitude instead of fearfully viewing them we can move forward with faith in ourselves. 94 percent of wealthy people filter their emotions as opposed to 69 percent of those that struggle financially Stagnating and a false sense of safety will not manifest into wealth. Once you see change as a chance for growth you can apply that to all areas of your life including a growing bank account.
3. CUT OUT OR HEAVILY REDUCE YOUR TIME IN FRONT OF A SCREEN
Two thirds of rich people watch less than an hour of TV a day and 63 percent spend less than an hour a day on the internet unless it is job related. In comparison 77 percent of those struggling financially spend an hour a day watching TV, and 74 percent spend an hour or more a day using the internet for entertainment purposes. Instead of wasting their valuable time on mind numbing endeavours the rich make it a priority to read every day. Among wealthy people, 88 percent read for 30 minutes or more every day. Reading increases knowledge and by increasing knowledge they are able to identify new opportunities which can translate into making more money. Compare this to only one in 50 of those that read daily who are struggling financially. As a result of the preferences in how they spend their spare time the poor don’t grow professionally and are among the first to be fired or downsized.
4. SET GOALS AND STICK TO THEM
Instead of wishing and dreaming for something without a plan of how to obtain it, start setting specific goals for yourself. You cannot control the outcome of a goal on a wish or a whimsical desire, but you can control the outcome of a goal with a clear plan of action. Every year, 70 percent of the wealthy pursue at least one major goal, in comparison to only 3 percent of those struggling to make ends meet. Write down what you want to achieve and work towards it believing that you can attain it. Take realistic steps to reach the goal. Stop wishing for something to happen. Make it happen.
5. DON’T GAMBLE
Are you waiting and counting on winning the lottery to achieve financial success? Get in line. Every week, 77 percent of those who struggle financially play the lottery. Hardly anyone who is wealthy does. Those that are wealthy are not relying on the far fetched dream of relying on such means to achieve wealth. They create their own good luck.
6. LIVE WITHIN YOUR MEANS
Among those who are struggling financially almost all are spending more than they earn and living above their means. When you spend more than you earn you inevitably incur debt. Wealthy people avoid overspending by paying their future selves first. They generally save 20 percent of their net income and strive to live on the remaining 80 percent. The wealthy steer clear of accumulating credit card debt and generally never use leasing as a means to fund a car. Ninety-four percent of the wealthy buy instead of leasing. Those that are wealthy tend to keep their cars as long as possible so that they are able to save more money. To get rich, cut down on unnecessary expenditure to clear debt and become financially free. Being in debt not only endangers your future financial freedom it can also due to the stress it incurs have detrimental effects on your health and relationships.
7. STOP PROCRASTINATING – DO IT NOW!
Create daily lists that you need to achieve to reach your goals and aim to complete them. Use affirmations to get you through your lists such as ‘do it now’ to push you to complete tasks. Set deadlines for yourself and keep to them. Rich people know that procrastination stops them from achieving their short and long term goals which include being financially independent. They strive to be disciplined and don’t allow distractions to interfere with the daily tasks they need to complete which are necessary to achieve their long term goals. Don’t put things off. Do them now. Soon it will become yet another positive habit towards your goal of wealth attainment.
8. AVOID TOXIC AND NEGATIVE PEOPLE
Of rich and successful people 86 percent surround themselves with other affluent people, whereas 96 percent of those who are financially struggling hang out with those that are in similar situations as themselves. We are only as positive, successful and generally rich as those we spend the most time with. Like attracts like. People who are stuck in a poverty cycle tend to negatively feed one another on the ‘hardships of life’ and therefore only reinforce negative habits into their neural pathways. Successful people who have accumulated positive habits only increase these by the other successful people they choose to be around. If you wish to be financially free you need to evaluate your relationships and start spending more time on cultivating rich relationships (with people who can inspire you and help you on your way up) and less time on poverty relationships which will only hold you back and reinforce negative mindsets that you need to eradicate to achieve your goal of being rich.
9. LISTEN MORE THAN YOU SPEAK
Wealthy people have learned to evolve into good communicators because they are good listeners. They know that you can only learn and educate yourself by listening to what others have to say. You should listen to others for five minutes for every minute you speak back. Give up being a conversation hogger to learn more from others in your quest for wealth.
10. KEEP LOOKING FORWARD AND DON’T GIVE UP
Three traits are necessary to achieve financial success, these are focus, persistence and patience. Those who are successful know that the path to success can be filled with challenges and obstacles that need to be overcome. They also know that if everything was easy everyone would be rich and this is simply not the case. The rich don’t quit when pursuing their goals. They keep moving forward with a positive attitude and a mind set tuned to success. Those who struggle financially tend to give up too quickly or when things ‘seem too hard’ therefore giving up prematurely on their goal of being rich and achieving financial freedom.
11. PURSUE A DREAM OR A PURPOSE THAT MEANS SOMETHING TO YOU
As Jim Carrey famously said ‘you can fail at something you hate, so why not do something you love.’ Those that pursue a dream or a main purpose in life that is important to them are ultimately the happiest and richest. If you love what you do for a living you are happier to devote more hours every day into making it successful which will ultimately lead to financial gain. Chances are that if you are making an inadequate income at the moment it can be because you are not working at something you don’t particularly like, enjoy or that interests you. When you are able to access a sufficient income doing something that you find fulfilling you have found your main purpose.
A DEBT FREE LIFE IS ACHIEVABLE
Start adopting these rich habits to attract and enjoy a rich life. A debt free life is doable for anyone who is willing to put in the time and effort to cultivate and emulate the ways the rich get rich and stay rich.