The Power of your Words

The last couple of weeks I have been writing articles to get us thinking as we get ready to leap the year. The articles have mostly revolved around our thinking with money. Today I want us to understand the effect of how we speak about money. There is a song I like listening to that emphasises the power of the words “I AM”.  The phrase in the song is actually “Whatever words follow I AM will come looking for you”.  So for example if you keep saying I am sick over and over again, you will find yourself sick.  Sickness will look for you because that is exactly what you have asked for. When it comes to money, the phrase we like throwing around is “I am broke”.  It really should be no surprise then that we continuously find ourselves broke should it? If you are constantly talking about how broke you are, please do not blame your employer, bank or the government for your situation.  You got what you asked for.  Many people have acknowledged that when they are complaining about being broke they are usually indulging in the very same activity that is making them broke. Say you are looking to move up the ladder in your chosen career and looking for opportunities with various organisations.  You get your CV done extremely professionally. You are called for an interview because at first glance everything about you adds up.  However when you start talking at this interview all you can do is say negative things about yourself.  I do not think you will get that job. The beginning of any change is definitely how we think but it must be followed up by how we also speak.  You cannot think one thing and speak another. This is the same thing we keep doing with money.  Just because we may not have a panel of people interviewing us does not mean the words we have spoken have any less effect.  In the Centonomy course, we tell people to avoid saying anything negative about their financial situation for the entire duration of the program.  The fact that most of them find it extremely difficult in the beginning says something about how we have conditioned ourselves to talk badly about money.

So you may be thinking this is all well and good but the fact is you do not have money so all you are expressing is the reality of the situation. I know this may sound crazy but the reality is not exactly what you are seeing.  When you are too caught up thinking how broke you are, you have actually closed your mind off to seeing other things.  When I was making a shift in my business, I went through a difficult financial time and one day I had the equivalent of two hundred shillings in my bank account.  This was the reality.  Of course I went into the normal thinking and speaking about how I did not have money, I am broke, things are not working out etc.  One day a thought crossed my mind that despite my circumstances, I was mentally able.  There was an email going round inviting people to listen to an investment opportunity. Ordinarily I would have dismissed it but because of that persistent thought I gave it another glance.  Despite what I felt and my financial reality I attended it and just by listening to the people there, it started putting me in a different frame of mind.  Firstly I realised even though I talk about how broke am, it was simply not going to help me because the world was going on. The rich were getting richer because rather than talking about what is wrong with the world, they were learning about how to make their money grow. I left that meeting not having miraculously invested because I obviously did not have the money they were asking for, but with a conscious determination not to indulge in self-pity thought or conversation. It did not come naturally and this was not easy to do. I would have to force myself not to talk negative despite the urge to vent about what was wrong with the world.  When I slipped up, at least I was aware I did it and would make a conscious effort not to say it again. I also had to stop listening to people who only wanted to talk about being broke. The effect of this is like a power black out.  Say you are engrossed in TV and power goes off.  It is very annoying and irritating at first but once you have accepted it’s gone, you find something to do.  You may read a book or go visit friends.  You even forget there was a power black out because you are now caught up in the new activity. In the same way as you start exercising some control over the urge to talk negatively about your financial situation (equivalent to putting a black out on negativity), you free up your mind to focus on the other opportunities and solutions for your situation that may be out there for you. I was able to see the opportunities to start making small amounts of money and to do things differently that I would have dismissed in the “I am broke” frame of mind. Over time I found I was more attracted to conversations about improving my life, rather than those that emphasise how bad it is.  In line with the bigger vision and actions I have been writing about in the previous articles, also learn to speak the words that are in alignment with where you want to go.  There is a reason that a verse in the book of Proverbs actually states that “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit”.  Watch what you say and ditch the “I am broke” crowd in 2014!

Waceke runs a program on personal financial management. Find her at waceke@centonomy.com| 

Twitter @centonomy

Facebook Centonomy