What the Affluent Can Teach Us About...Affluence
You've probably seen the meme 'Maybe you manifested it, maybe it's white privilege'. What do those words mean to you? Chances are it depends on both your racial identity and your socio-economic origins.
We develop and adopt our place in the world based on our surroundings during childhood. If we grow up wealthy, we expect that to continue and if we grow up in poverty, we see no other way to live. Because 1 in 7 white families are millionaires compared to 1 in 50 black families, white privilege – and class privilege – perpetuates itself.
For example, according to this article in the Washington Post, white families invest in the stock market twice as often as black or Latino families. If your racial or social identity does not include investing, you probably do not consider it to be a viable avenue for wealth in your life. In this way, the affluent tend to increase their wealth, while the less fortunate tend to maintain their struggles.
Affluent people manifest abundance seemingly without effort. They may not even know they’re manifesting but think this is just how things work. People in the middle and lower classes haven't experienced the same abundance, so they think they can’t have it. And what we think is what we get.
Growing Up Affluent
Affluent kids learn that you ask for what you want, and expect to get it. They don’t grow up hearing that they can’t afford things.
Affluent kids also learn that they can be anything they want. Their parents, their friends’ parents are doctors, lawyers, bankers, ‘movers and shakers’. They’re successful and well connected. The kids grow up hearing adults talk about work, vacations, possessions, and how life works. From the very beginning, their brains work on abundance level 10.
Affluent kids are raised with possibilities. They experience travel. They get to choose whatever they want to eat while dining out. They take lessons in everything – piano, dance, art. They attend camps and learn horseback riding, fencing, archery. Anything they want to learn. These lessons result in increased confidence and they believe anything is possible.
I once heard Rob Lowe say that he grew up near the Sheen family and hung out with Charlie Sheen and Chris Penn. They made movies in the backyard. They passed their summers in the pool, dreaming. And they expected their dreams to come true. The Lowe family was not as wealthy as the Sheens, but by living in that neighborhood and associating with his wealthy friends, Rob was exposed to possibility. He learned to manifest abundance by doing so with his affluent friends.
Contrast this with a child that never sees anyone get what they want. A child who sometimes doesn’t even get what they need. Think about what this child learns and assimilates into their own belief system. These fundamental beliefs about how life works shape children's brains from a young age. They determine whether or not the child believes things are possible in their own life.
Don’t focus on ‘how’
The real advantage of growing up affluent is in knowing that for you, ‘it’ is possible – whatever ‘it’ may be. You don’t doubt that you can attain ‘it’ and you certainly don’t worry about how.
Those of us who didn’t grow up affluent often get sidetracked – and sometimes stopped – at trying to figure out how. How do I make this happen? How can I overcome this obstacle? How do I do this thing? In fact, one of the hardest things about manifesting is to let go of focusing on how.
Affluent people don't have this problem. They already know they can figure out how. They have confidence, knowledge, and connections. Anything is possible. The rest of us see our limitations and figuring out ‘how’ can stop us cold. So let it go. Emulate the affluent and don’t focus on how.
How to change your limiting beliefs
Even if you weren't born with a silver spoon, you can have the life of your dreams. The affluent have a certain set of beliefs based on their experiences. These beliefs give them the advantage of expecting success. If you don’t have the same expectation, you don’t have the same advantage.
But...beliefs can be changed and changing your core beliefs brings about real-life change.
One of the fastest ways to change core beliefs is to shift your point of view. The four basic steps to making this shift are as follows:
Identify your core beliefs.
Focus on changing your most damaging beliefs first.
Replace your limiting beliefs with affluent beliefs.
Check-in with yourself and repeat the process.
I discuss each of these steps in more detail below.
Identify your core beliefs
We’ve all heard that the first step in solving a problem is admitting that there is a problem. Similarly, to change your core beliefs, you need to understand what they are. Identify your core beliefs and determine which of them hold you back.
To determine which of your beliefs are damaging, look at your life and find areas in which you are dissatisfied or struggling. Then think about all the beliefs that are associated with that area. It may help to write them down. Figure out if these beliefs are limiting you by imagining how your life would change without them. Really examine your life and how each belief affects it. Make a list with the most damaging belief at the top. Start there.
Focus on changing your most damaging beliefs first
Now that you’ve determined your most damaging belief, deal with it first. Don’t try to tackle the whole list at once. Change your beliefs one at a time, beginning at the top of your list.
Write your damaging belief down. Read it aloud and then ask yourself if you know that it is true. Discover the source of your belief – your own experience? Your parents? A teacher? Are you (or they) an expert? Only rely on the experience of experts.
Experts have vast experience. Limited experience, even your own, doesn’t mean something is always true, does it? Look for examples that prove your former belief wrong. Say out loud, “I choose not to believe X anymore! It is NOT true!” Find evidence that supports this statement.
Replace your limiting beliefs with affluent beliefs
Don’t leave a belief vacuum! Create a new belief to replace the one that was damaging. This new belief may be the opposite of the one it’s replacing, and it should clearly support positive change in your life. For example, replace “my family doesn’t invest in stocks” with “I invest my money wisely in a diverse portfolio that includes stocks.” Imagine the belief you would have if you were living your dream life.
Now make your new belief real. Once again look for evidence. Find examples. Prove to yourself that this new belief is true. And if it is true, its opposite must be false. Imagine convincing someone else that your new belief is correct. Make the argument. Make the case. Convince yourself that your new belief is true. This may not happen immediately, so work on it every day. Consciously change your thinking in order to change your beliefs.
Check-in with yourself and repeat the process
Check-in with yourself and your new belief every day. Evaluate how you feel about it and see if it’s changing your behavior. When you’ve mastered one belief, go back to your list and tackle the next belief. Periodically, update your list, weeding out new or newly discovered beliefs as they arise.
Rock it like you were born rich
Our childhood circumstances show us our place in the world. Affluent kids grow up believing that everything is possible. As a result, they manifest abundance almost automatically. Children from middle-class and poor households learn that life is more of a struggle, with fewer choices. And this is often the life they manifest.
But we are not locked into the circumstances of our childhoods. We need to understand that our limitations are self-imposed. By changing our core beliefs – by thinking like the rich – we can learn to manifest abundance.
Make your own privilege by thinking like the affluent.
How will you apply these lessons to your own life? Leave a comment below – I’d love to hear from you!
Written by Renee Spears. Renee is a Law of Attraction Coach & Mentor, Spiritual Advisor, and Host of The Abundology Podcast. Learn more here.