We're Too Poor

I was reflecting today on a moment that in hindsight was pivotal in my walk with money.

When my babies were young, we were poor, food stamps at one point and secondhand clothes always.

I chafed against that life so much, knowing I wanted so much more.

That lack really infiltrated how I viewed the world, and how I showed up in it.

More importantly, it colored how I spoke.

One day, as we were on our way up financially, my then seven-year-old daughter hung her head and said dismally, "We can't. We're too poor."

That landed like a sucker punch to my gut.

We actually weren't, at that time, "too poor."

But the way I spoke still was. I spoke in poverty. And I thought in poverty.

I vowed that day to never again speak of money that way.

To instead reframe it to, "We have all we need."

It's not the only method of transformation, but when we begin to accept that words are spells, that what we say can create what we experience, we can begin to shape that experience.

Reframe the negative into a positive.

"I'm not good enough" becomes, "I'm becoming excellent at this."

"We can't afford that" becomes, "We're choosing to spend intentionally right now."

Even more subtle topics, when reframed, can transform a life.

"I'm too fat" becomes, "I'm exactly who I need to be."

"I don't have time" becomes, "I have all the time I need."

Try that last one on for a few weeks and watch in astonishment as reality bends.