Wealth Starts Within: How Self-Worth and Beliefs Impact Your Finances
Money Issues Are Often Personal Issues in Disguise
Money is a high-tension topic in the collective consciousness due to what it represents and the emotional charge it creates. It is deeply tied to:
- Survival and Security: When money feels scarce, it triggers fear and anxiety.
- Self-Worth and Identity: Financial status often equates to personal value and self-worth. Losing money can feel like losing one’s identity, leading to insecurity and imposter syndrome.
- Power and Control: Money dictates access to opportunities, resources, and influence. Financial disparities in relationships, families, or businesses can create tension, resentment, and conflict.
Many believe that “Money is the root of all evil” because financial disputes break families apart — through inheritance battles, financial dependency, or differing money mindsets between partners. People even commit suicide due to crushing debt, financial pressure, and the associated social stigma and shame.
The Truth About Money
Money is just money. It is simply energy — an exchange. You put in effort and energy to generate money, which you then exchange for something else that you desire and value — whether it’s goods, services, or experiences.
Money represents value but is not value itself. The real value lies in skills, knowledge, services, or products that people create and exchange.
- Example: A skilled consultant may charge $10,000 for an engagement, not because of the number of hours worked, but because of the value of their insights and results.
Your relationship with money is shaped by how you perceive value, which is directly tied to your own self-worth. When you are unable to recognize your own worth, it can lead to self-destructive behaviors:
- Overgiving and Overworking: Trying to prove your worth by overextending in relationships, business, or career — often leading to burnout and financial struggle.
- Struggling with Receiving: Feeling unworthy of money or success, giving excessively but resisting taking, believing you must “earn” every dollar through struggle.
- Attracting People Who Undervalue You: When you don’t see your own worth, others won’t either.
- Scarcity Mindset: Fear-based decisions, risk aversion, and an inability to invest in personal or business growth.
- Guilt and Shame: Feeling guilty when receiving money or ashamed when lacking it, leading to cycles of financial self-sabotage.
Those who don’t recognize their own worth often take without valuing what they receive — underpaying, seeking free services, or expecting something for nothing. Others can make money but struggle to hold onto it, unconsciously sabotaging their success or giving too much without allowing themselves to receive in return.
“When you undervalue what you do, the world will undervalue who you are.” — Oprah Winfrey
The Problem with Dichotomous Thinking About Money
When people see money as inherently limited or tied to rigid either/or choices, they fall into a scarcity-driven mindset. This forces them into unnecessary trade-offs:
- “I must choose between financial stability OR following my passion.”
- “I can either start my business now OR invest in my own personal growth, but not both.”
Dichotomous thinking distorts the truth about money by reinforcing the idea that financial decisions are binary, rather than dynamic and flexible. This false sense of limitation can create unnecessary restrictions and constraints:
- Limits Creative Problem-Solving: When you believe you must choose between two options, you may overlook creative solutions that incorporate both or explore alternative paths.
- Example: Instead of choosing between saving money or starting a business, could you structure a phased approach to do both?
2. Creates Unnecessary Pressure: Binary choices cause stress, making decision-making feel overwhelming.
- Example: “Should I follow my passion or choose a stable career?” In reality, there are ways to integrate both over time.
3. Leads to Regret or Second-Guessing: Feeling forced into a decision can later lead to doubt and dissatisfaction.
4. Overlooks the Power of “And” Instead of “Or”: Instead of asking, “Should I do this or that?”, consider how both might coexist or evolve together.
- Example: Instead of choosing between work-life balance OR career growth, explore how to integrate both strategically.
5. Encourages a Fixed Mindset: Binary thinking assumes choices are final and unchangeable, which is rarely the case.
Every time you say yes to something, you’re saying no to something else. What are you saying no to? Are you leaving yourself behind? This will often be the case when you are unable to recognize your own self-worth. It’s all connected — and it’s rarely just about money.
In reality, money flows where value, creativity, and problem-solving thrive — not where fear and restriction dictate choices. Instead of asking, “Can I afford this?”, ask, “How can I make this happen?” This shift opens up possibilities and new ways forward.
“The moment you change your perception is the moment you rewrite the chemistry of your body.” — Dr. Bruce Lipton
For most life decisions, there’s almost always another way forward. If you can’t accept that money is not the core problem, and that it is your perception that is the issue, you won’t see new opportunities. You’ll remain stuck in an old mental frame, resisting change.
The Poverty Construct
So long as the poverty construct in your mind remains unbroken, you will struggle to elevate your business, career, relationships, or life to a higher level. Do you believe you can break through? Do you believe you can rise beyond your current circumstances?
Some people can generate money but do not have the capacity to hold onto it. Others struggle to generate money at all. Breaking through these financial ceilings requires examining your belief systems and the patterns you unconsciously repeat.
Limiting Beliefs Around Money
Many people are trapped in beliefs such as:
- I have to work hard to make money.
- I’m not good with money.
- Making money takes time.
- Life is difficult.
- Success requires suffering.
Breaking free requires finding the root cause to dismantle the limiting belief system that has shaped your financial reality. Everyone has unique gifts and talents, but the narrative you run in your head determines the results you experience.
The Truth About Financial Freedom
Many people believe their problems will disappear once they achieve financial freedom. The reality? The same issues persist — sometimes even more intensely.
Money was never the issue. The real challenges could be accountability, rejection, fear of failure, or self-worth issues.
The more you make money the issue, the harder it becomes for money to flow into your life.
Guided Innerwork
If you do not address your poverty construct, they will continue to sabotage your prosperity and abundance. Many believe it’s about increasing financial knowledge, savings and investing or surrounding themselves with financially savvy people. It’s more than that. True transformation requires inner work.
Engaging an inner work teacher for yourself can help you identify your blindspots around money and provide objective insights into the original root cause of your financial struggles, helping you:
- Break free from limiting beliefs and patterns.
- Take empowered action and build systems for financial growth.
- Learn new mental models beyond your current mindset.
- Build inner tools to navigate forward powerfully.
Investing in a guided inner work journey allows you to see what you cannot see alone.
The Root of the Problem
Is money the root of all evil? No. You are the root of your reality. Your beliefs, mindset, and actions determine your experience. Money is neutral — it’s how you engage with it that defines your success or struggle.
Break the construct. Shift your mindset. The rest will follow.
Let’s continue the conversation on LinkedIn — I’d love to hear your thoughts! Join me there and share your perspective.
