How to Set a Money Mindset Shift in Motion

This article is an excerpt from the Shortform book guide to "You Are a Badass at Making Money" by Jen Sincero. Shortform has the world's best summaries and analyses of books you should be reading.

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What’s holding you back from making more money? How can you trigger a money mindset shift?

According to You Are a Badass at Making Money by Jen Sincero, the best thing you can do to change your relationship with money is to change the way you think about money. If you address your limiting beliefs, nothing will stop you from achieving financial success.

Let’s look at why shifting your mindset about money is the best way to reach financial success.

Shift Your Beliefs About Money From Negative to Positive

Sincero states that “financial success” means being able to pay for the things you need to live the life that represents your best self. It’s not necessarily outrageous wealth.

For example, if you’re fulfilled by going to new places and meeting new people, financial success might mean making enough money to travel to multiple countries for several months every year. Or, if you’ve always wanted to start a family, financial success might mean being able to support a household comfortably.

Benefits and Drawbacks of a Money Mindset Shift Financial Advice

Sincero’s financial advice is based primarily on the “wealth mindset,” a common foundational concept used by financial coaches and influencers. A wealth mindset dictates that we live in a plentiful universe, and there’s no limit to what’s available to us or what we can do. The only thing limiting us is our own negative thoughts and beliefs about money.

Some critics of this philosophy argue that it lacks transparency and follow-through. Many coaches who advocate for it aren’t actually in good financial standing, but they make it seem like they are to sell their services. Further, in reality, changing your financial circumstances requires technical knowledge, concrete behavioral changes, and learned skills. The wealth mindset doesn’t offer this knowledge or structure. Nonetheless, adopting the wealth mindset is arguably a good step toward financial success. You need a positive mindset around money to feel financially secure. If you hold onto limiting beliefs, you’ll feel insecure no matter how much money you have because you’ll always be afraid to lose it.

To productively employ a wealth mindset, save money with gratitude (not with the fear that there’ll never be enough), and be intentional with your spending. When you feel the urge to buy something, wait a while and see if you still want to buy it in a few days. After waiting, you may discover that you’re happy and grateful for what you already have and that you don’t need the item. If you do buy it, spend your money with the intention that the purchase will make your life better or help you be your best self, as Sincero suggests.

Below, we’ll examine how our thought patterns shape every aspect of our reality, including our financial reality. We’ll also explain how the subconscious self prevents us from taking the risks necessary to succeed financially. Finally, we’ll discuss some of the most common negative subconscious beliefs about money.

How Your Thought Patterns Affect Your Reality

Sincero argues that you create your reality with your thoughts rather than the other way around. Your thoughts shape your reality because they determine your behavior: Thoughts lead to emotions, and emotions drive your actions. Therefore, by changing your negative, limiting thought patterns to ones that are positive and ambitious, you can act in a way that serves your best interests and shapes your life into whatever you want.

Additionally, you engage with the energy of the universe with your thoughts. Sincero argues that there’s a higher power—whether you believe it’s God, the universe, or something else—that affects your life. It’s a force beyond the perception of your five senses that creates an energetic order in the world around you. The universe receives the energy you put out with your thoughts and gives it back to you in the form of your experiences and opportunities.

For example, if you think that you’re not good enough to get a promotion at work, you may feel discouraged and unmotivated. This can lead to a lack of effort and poor performance, which in turn can make it less likely that you’ll get the promotion. On the other hand, if you think positively and believe that you’re capable of achieving your goals, you may feel more confident and motivated. This can lead to better performance and a greater likelihood that you’ll receive the promotion you desire. Further, this will lead to greater financial success, as a promotion likely comes with a higher salary and more perks.

The universe will respond to your confidence by sending you good opportunities. For instance, a new, better position within your company might pop up as soon as you start thinking positively about your job prospects. Or, your boss who never seemed to notice you before may ask you to work on an important project, giving you the chance to prove yourself. If you don’t trust that the universe will provide for you, opportunities may never appear.

Money and the Subconscious Self

To begin changing your unhelpful views of money, Sincero argues that you must address your subconscious thoughts first—those that you’re not actively aware of, but that still influence your behavior. You likely have positive conscious views about money—namely that your life would be better with more of it—but your subconscious views might reflect a different story.

You’re born without any inherent views on money, but as you grow up, your life experiences and the beliefs of the people who surround you impact you. Your subconscious catalogs these influences before you’re old enough to understand their nuances and contexts, and they become subconscious values that guide your behavior into adulthood.

For example, say you grew up in a low-income household, but you had an uncle who made a lot of money and lived a lavish lifestyle. You often overheard your parents talking about how your uncle was selfish and didn’t want to spend time with your family after he achieved financial success. Therefore, you grew up viewing wealth as something that drives people apart and changes people’s personalities, and you subconsciously avoid accumulating wealth as an adult.

How to Set a Money Mindset Shift in Motion