A poverty mindset is a belief that things will not change, poverty mindsets convince people that their circumstances are fixed and that living pay-check to pay-check is the best they can do. They think that there's not much they can do to improve their circumstances, which is the major difference between having a rich and poor mentality.
A person with this mindset thinks differently about money, wealth, themselves, other people and life in general as they believe “Life just happens to them.” Believing that they are not in control of the steering wheel of their life and that they don't create every moment of life, especially their financial life. The primary concern of a person with a poverty mentality is survival and security unlike a rich person whose main concern is wealth and abundance.
Symptoms of The Poverty Mindset
There is no personal development in your life - A lot of people “suffering” from poverty don’t spend time to work and better themselves. Instead of investing their time on something that will give them a return, they spend money on things that will only make them feel better in the present moment.
There is no plan to get off of government funding - If a person with the poverty mindset is receiving assistance from the government and have no short or long- term goal to get off of it, there’re probably a high suspect of this negative mentality. Don’t fall for the government funding trap, and if you have already there is hope.
Their goals in life are non-existent or very, very small - Those raised poor environments are incapable of seeing a way out, thus they lack the capability of setting goals that will eventually lead to them bettering their life extra mentally.
Characteristics of poverty & rich mindset
Poor mindsets are uncommitted to being rich
Poor mindsets think small
Poor mindsets are smaller than their problems
Poor mindsets focus on problems
Poor mindsets see potential loss & focus on associated risks
Rich people see an opportunity in every situation and work to explore it
Rich mindsets see potential growth
Rich mindsets focus on the rewards while poor mindsets focus on the risks
Rich mindsets invest in educating themselves
Rich mindsets believe in abundance and an overflow of endless possibilities
How do you break out of poverty mindset?
A poverty mentality influences behaviour consistently with beliefs that money shouldn't be spent, opportunities are limited, any risk at all is dangerous, any success is temporary and non-replicable, and generally remaining in the back of the pack is safest the following are some ways to curb poverty mentality;
1. Be more grateful
2. Become more generous
3. Have some ambition in life
4. Be happy for other people's success and wealth
5. Take some risks
6. Spoil yourself within reason
7. Expand your mind and views about money
8. Hang out with rich and successful people
A poverty mentality is developed over time based on a strong belief that they will never have enough money. This mindset is driven by fear and can cause poor financial decision-making.
With any mentality a person has, whether it’s the poverty mentality, wealth mentality, or really any mentality, they all have one thing in common which is the current mentality any person has often believes it’s the best or even only option they have. While the wealthy mindset is one of the better mentalities to have, when it comes to the poor mindset those who have it just haven’t been conscious of the possibilities and potential out there for them and if one can not overcome it the best thing to do is speak to someone who can help them get a better mindset.
Listen To Podcast S3 E11 How Is The Poverty Mentality Formed?
