A few years ago, my husband took me rock climbing. Initially, I was pretty confident. “This looks easy, I’m pretty sure I can do it.” As I got about halfway up, I started to notice my thought patterns change.
“I don’t think I can do it. The rocks are too far out of reach. My arms are too short.”
Negative thoughts about money can buzz around like annoying flies, preventing you from making any real progress.Credit: Simon Letch
But I was determined to get to the top. I slowly made my way up the wall, but the thoughts didn’t stop.
“This is it, don’t think I can go further. It’s OK. My arms are shorter than his. My upper body strength isn’t as good as his. It’s easier for him. It’s fine for me to stop.”
I kept going, trying to swat away the negative thoughts like annoying flies. Eventually, I made it to the top. I was exhausted. Not from the climb, but from fighting my internal dialogue.
This is what I see people experiencing in their financial journeys. What makes their journey so hard is the constant internal battle with negative self-talk.
‘Instead of trying the same things (that aren’t working), why not try something new?’
We know from research that how you talk to yourself matters. Research has found negative self-talk to worsen outcomes in the realm of sports and athletics, and significantly impact or predict lower self-esteem and loneliness.
When it comes to personal finance, I often find that people who struggle to make progress are also the ones who experience the harshest or least inspiring self-talk.
How you could be setting yourself up to fail financially
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05.03.2024
A few years ago, my husband took me rock climbing. Initially, I was pretty confident. “This looks easy, I’m pretty sure I can do it.” As I got about halfway up, I started to notice my thought patterns change.
“I don’t think I can do it. The rocks are too far out of reach. My arms are too short.”
Negative thoughts about money can buzz around like annoying flies, preventing you........
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