DAY 7: Write down the mental barriers to attaining your financial goals

Many of us don't know that there are habits, attitudes, impressions and mental perceptions that we unconsciously have/carry as regards wealth, debt, giving, saving, and money generally. They were passed down to us by our parents, the environment we grew up in and our/their experiences with money while growing up.

Some of these are actually bad and will negatively affect the attainment of our financial goals, whereas for some of us, we already have the right, positive attitude to money from those interactions.

For example in my own case, both of my parents were bankers, so I always had, and spent mint (new money). Whereas when some people in Nigeria see mint, they go crazy literally and won’t spend it simply because it is mint. In fact, there are places/parties you go to in Lagos where you can buy mint because they want to spray them on the celebrants, etc. Yes, people buy naira with naira simply because it is new/mint!

There is a way you react to wealth that you know or may not know, and which may be detrimental to your attaining financial independence.

For example, when you see a rich man, do you admire him or resent his wealth? When you enter a shopping mall, do you wish you could buy anything and everything you want, simply because the items look good to the eyes? Can you control your spending especially when around friends, or do you always want to show off?  Do you spend because you have a deep-seated inferiority complex? Are you like me who likes to spend simply because I enjoy it and believe when you spend it means you are wealthy?

Do you sincerely believe (in your mind) that you can become a millionaire/billionaire in this life?

Think about how you react to money and wealth, and write down all the negative attitudes, habits, responses and barriers to you becoming rich and comfortable in life. Then start to work on each of them.

Remember, a problem well defined, is a problem half solved.