Money is a Mind Game

The struggles we have with money often boil down to our mindset. We create our circumstances through our actions. You can find two colleagues working in the same office who started work the same day right out of the University, earned roughly the same income but end up differently financially. If you dig deeper, you will find out that they have different mindsets when it comes to money. Two people can earn exact same wages – one saves, one does not. If you ask the nonsaver, he tells you the salary is hardly enough to make ends meet, hence saving is out of the question. He is right. His salary in his mind is not enough, and he goes ahead to prove it. If you look at his excuses, they all seem valid. If you ask the saver, he tells you he saves no matter what. He would be grateful for increased pay (which will translate to increased savings) but he believes he has no excuse not to save. He decides to save and he finds a way to do just that. What is the difference between the two? It is all in the mind.

Since I came to realize the impact of our mindsets, beliefs, and our reality, I have become more aware of the futility of most arguments. I have come to realize that both parties are often right – both are arguing from their realities which are not the same. I remember the story of 6 blind men that went to visit the elephant. All touched different parts of the elephant and went away with different impressions. The one that touch the tail concluded the elephant is like a thick rope, the one that touch the leg said the elephant is like a tree, and so on.

Now it will be foolhardy for the six blind men to enter into an argument over what the elephant is really like. They are all right. They are stating what they see based on where they are standing. That is why there is hardly a right or wrong answer when it comes to money. It depends on where you are standing and what you are seeing. We see the world not as it is, but as we are.

Money is not that paper that changes hands. It is the perception of value being exchanged. There was a time a wheelbarrow full of Zimbabwean Dollars was required to buy a loaf of bread. You had bizarre denominations like 1Billion dollar notes. It was worth less than the paper it was printed on. There was too much paper chasing too few goods and services. Before paper currency, trade and commerce were alive and well. People used to trade by barter. Compared to the ease of transactions we experience today, it was a cumbersome process but it served its purpose

Money can be created virtually from thin air. If you look at all the software we use, it is not a tangible commodity, though they come stored in CDs and DVDs. What makes the CDs and DVDs (or downloads) so valuable is the content. If you open it up, you will see a sea of letters, numbers, and symbols that make up the program. The letters are from 0 – 9, letters from A – Z, and then symbols are thrown in between. That is all. It may be thousands of files, but the basic raw materials are numbers, letters, and symbols – stuff we all learned in primary school. That is the building block of Google, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. The founders have become Billionaires because the owners could identify a need and use numbers, letters, and symbols to solve them.

Anytime you see money flowing, value is being created in one form or the other. Someone caused something to happen. For that person to swing into action, he must, first of all, believe it is possible and achievable. If he thought it was impossible, there would be no attempt made. That is why what we think is ultra crucial. If we think we can, we will. If we think we can’t, we won’t. Either way, we are right. There are no wrong answers.

If you think you cannot afford it, you are right. If you think the economy is bad hence your idea won’t work, you are spot on. If you think your income is not enough, you are absolutely correct. If you believe you cannot send your children to University, you are right again. What you say goes. You are the man. This is what makes it so sad, using our marvelous minds and the power to choose against ourselves.

You cannot win an argument about money and most issues. Both parties are absolutely correct. What you believe is real ultimately becomes your reality. What is your belief?