Maybe you’re like the majority of my mentees before they start in one of my mentor-programs: you close your eyes and don’t get started with investing because it’s too complicated. To some the thought of investing is frightening. It’s not a surprise because 1) school does not teach us about personal finance and investing and 2) many of the systems and platforms are set-up in a way that makes users feel inferior and dumb. When mentees come to me, they think they need to figure out the stock market as a whole and that it’s like a game that needs to be decoded.

To work with your mindset here are 3 exercises you can do to get any limiting beliefs cleared out of your system, so you can rewire your patterns and take the action you need to change your finances.

1) Belief Buster

Write down you limiting beliefs about investing and money. It could be that you “don’t have enough money”. Or that “it’s too complicated to invest”. That “investing is only for professionals”. That “it’s too time consuming” or that “it’s too late for you to get started”. These are some of the limiting beliefs that I meet as a mentor and maybe you can recognise some of these too. If not spend some time reflecting on your own beliefs that’s stopping you from getting started.

Once you’ve identified your limiting beliefs it’s time to reflect on the consequences of that belief. What did you miss out on? What did this belief keep you from doing or trying? If you don’t change this belief, what’s it going to cost you? Write the consequences down for each old limiting belief you identified.

Now it’s time for you to create a new, empowering belief for yourself. For example: “I’m resourceful and can find the right mentor to teach me”. “I prioritise my financial education and learning about investing is and investment in my future”. “I commit to being steady. Every dollar I invest is a step towards my financial goal”

2) Daily Gratitude Practice

I’m a big fan of practising gratitude and I suggest that you start a daily practice, where you write down 3 things that you’re grateful for related to your financial situation. This exercise will shift your focus from scarcity to abundance. It could be gratitude for learning opportunities (you’re reading this article – yay you!), gratitude for putting money into your savings or investment account (or paying off a loan), it could be gratitude to people in your network who’re either rolemodels or have directly supported you financially at some point in time.

3) Visualize Your Future

I have a vision board and have had it for most of my adult life. I’ve helped my kids create vision boards and you should make one too. You can use Canva, which is a free program, power-point, a virtual white board like Miro or even a large sheet of paper. Next step is to find photos online that represents elements of your future dreams. Unfortunately I can’t share my vision board because there’s copyrighted images, that I don’t have the rights for to publish on a public blog. But my vision board has a photo of Warren Buffett (in that photo he looks happy to see someone – I visualize that it’s me;). I have the interior of a private jet, photos of some of my role models, a photo of staff that will clean and cook for me and my family, a form for Tony Robbin’s Platinum Partners, I have a tropical vacation photo with my family in it, Disneyland experiences, and a Macaw parrot – I would love to see these in their natural habitat.

Pro tip: Write your new empowering money mantras from exercise number one on your vision board. I also have this incantation: Wealth is circulating in my life. All my needs, desires and goals are met – instantaneously by the Universe. Her wealth flows through me in avalanches of abundance. I give thanks for all my good now and all of her riches.

Now you have 3 exercises that requires nothing but action. Even if you don’t recognise yourself in the beliefs I’ve written here, there’s always something to work on – for me too. So get started today – nothing should hold you back from busting some of those limiting beliefs that stopping you from achieving your finance goal. Book a package with 3 mentor-sessions to get started investing today.