March 15, 2010
The power of mindset
Even Jesus Christ said that the poor will always be with us. The cases of those who are so poor that they cannot even buy food for their children are very complex and there are many organizations to help them get out of the rut initially. But they still have to be able to help themselves.
Even those who do not have enough still have their intellect and will. For as long as we are alive, we can think and create good things for us, provided we have the right mindset and the will to improve our lives. I believe that the key to breaking out of poverty is MINDSET.
The dictionary defines “mindset” as a set of beliefs or a way of thinking that determine somebody’s behavior and outlook.
• Parents, play a big role in setting the right mindset.
•If not in the parents’ lifetime, there is a good chance that children can
•Only if brought up correctly with the right VALUES!
So many poor people have brought themselves up and the common denominator is the MINDSET.
There is a story about elephants that is a very good example of how, sometimes, we get caught up in our present so that we are not able to break out and do something better for ourselves. It seems that huge trained elephants will not break away from ropes they are tied to even if they could easily do so. Why?
• When very young and much smaller, the same size rope is used to tie them and at that age, they cannot break away.
• As they grow, they are conditioned to believe they cannot break away.
•They will never break away because they believe they cannot.
• They are stuck right where they are.
The elephants have limited their abilities and their potential by the limitations of its past.
Like the elephants, how many go through life holding onto a belief that we cannot do something, simply because we failed at it before? How many refuse to attempt something new and challenging because we have conditioned our minds that we cannot? This kind of mindset is what happens when are repeatedly told that we cannot do something because we are too poor. If instead, we repeatedly show and tell our children that they can be better than we are, then, we can break them out of this mindset.
Here are some general ways we can take to condition the minds of our children to be open to challenges to break out of poverty:
1. Make sure that we are not only working to the best of our ability but also that we are living within our means without any wasting of money through vices and unnecessary luxuries.
2. Show that we are trying our best to understand the world of savings and investment by listening to simple presentations.
3. Finding opportunities for our children to get better education on simple money management:
- need to earn,
- set aside saving before spending,
- grow savings,
- understand good debt
- share while remembering that you can share only what you have.
4. Always practice values of respect, honesty, integrity, resourcefulness, sincerity, discipline, determination, and decisiveness, among others.
Your attempts might fail, but never fail to make an attempt. Choose to not accept the false boundaries and limitations created by the past!
Mary Anne B. Colaco is a happy wife, fulfilled mother of three beautiful ladies, helpful mother-in-law of two handsome gentlemen, doting grandmother of two adorable girls and the diligent President of Colayco Foundation for Education (CFE). For over 40 years, Mabsi, short for MAB-C, was in executive-level finance-related positions, as well as general management positions in Ayala Corporation subsidiaries (then, Pure Foods and Globe Telecom among others) and also served as a Commissioner of the Energy Regulatory Commission.
She joins her husband, author-entrepreneur Francisco J. Colayco in their common advocacy of teaching financial literacy to income-earning Filipinos. Herword.com draws from Mabsi’s wealth of life experiences in giving advice on personal money management.
If you have any questions about personal finance, e-mail feedback@herword.com.
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