If you find yourself saying “I can’t afford it” all the time, we need to talk….
Let me preface this with the fact that I’m certainly not a millionaire (yet), and once upon a time, I was an 18-year-old with a baby and nowhere to live. I totally understand being on a budget and I totally understand the need to stretch a dollar around the block and back. “I can’t afford it” was a phrase that was as common in my vocabulary as “hello”.
But here’s the thing…
Thoughts Become Things
I’m not gonna go too far down the law of attraction rabbit hole (you can follow Denise to find out more about that) but I am going to confess that I firmly believe that thoughts become things. Unfortunately this seems to be especially true of the negative thoughts. And more importantly, when you’re telling yourself a certain story over and over in your head, you’re likely saying it out loud as well and it’s boomeranging back your way. Bottom line: these stories end up becoming reality.
Let’s take ourselves from victim to victor, shall we?
Sometimes it’s not so much the idea itself that’s the issue but the devil is actually in the details (or, in this case, the words). Here are a few examples of how you can transform a passive, victim-like phrase, into a more empowering one, or as I like to say, take if from victim to victor:
I can’t afford it – > It’s not a priority for me right now
I don’t have time -> It’s not a priority for me right now
Cause, really, it’s all about priorities isn’t it?
Of course, you could also have other reasons for not investing in a product or service or for hiring an assistant. It could not be right for you, or perhaps you don’t see the value in it, perhaps it’s not a great product or you think it’s overpriced…
Today I’m specifically tackling the phrase “I can’t afford it” and why I think we should stop using it pronto.
I say no to a lot of things all time. As a matter of fact, I say no to 90% of things so that I can say yes to the 10% of things that I really want, need and feel like are the best use of my time, money, energy and focus at any given time. I no longer, however, use the phrase “I can't afford it”, not even in my head.
Try it!
If you find yourself using the phrase “I can’t afford it”, shift it to “It’s not a priority for me right now” and let me know if that shifts things for you after a few months. I have a feeling it will, and I’d love to hear about it in the comments below.
Mindset is at least 50% of the gig in entrepreneurship, if not more.
What do you think? What other phrases would you add to the list of phrases we could benefit from replacing by something more empowering? Leave a comment below.
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yOU ARE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT! “i CAN’T AFFORD THIS” WAS ONCE A PART OF MY EVERYDAY VOCABULARY AND MINDSET. IT TOOK A RUDE AWAKENING A FEW YEARS AGO FOR ME TO REALIZE THAT THINKING LIKE THAT WAS GETTING ME NOWHERE FAST 🙂 i JUST POSTED THESE VERY WORDS, “THOUGHTS BECOME THINGS” LAST NIGHT ON MY tWITTER FEED. i’M READING lEVERATING THE UNIVERSE BY mIKE dOOLEY RIGHT NOW AND IT’S A GENTLE REMINDER OF THE POWER OF OUR THOUGHTS. WHENEVER i FIND MYSELF GETTING OUT OF THE ABUNDANCE MINDSET, i REPEAT OVER AND OVER “MONEY COMES EASILY, FREQUENTLY, AND ABUNDANTLY.” IT’S MY MAGIC TRICK LOL.
I like your magic trick, Kari! Thanks for sharing 🙂
I ised to tell my kids “Thaf’s just not how i want to spend my money” to shOw them that its a choics. But i love using the word Priority. Thank you! And yes, thoughts become things!
Oh and sorry for the typos. Autocorrect drives me nuts!
Thanks for bringing up kids Elizabeth! It’s so important to watch what we say around them.
love this post sylvie! it is so easy to get in and stay in the scarcity mindset, focusing on the things like, “I don’t have time,” or “I can’t afford it.” but as you said, thoughts become things and if that’s what we are focusing on, that is no doubt what we will attract more of, the lack mentality. Thanks for great tip on reframing so we can eliminate those phrases!
So glad it resonated Christine!