Mom Unplugged

Poverty Mindset Part 2: What I Let Go Of

Mar 7, 2008 Unplugged Moments

This is part 2 of Guilty As Charged: I Have a Poverty Mindset.

Erykah Badu has a song called Bag Lady and one of the verse goes like this:

Bag lady you gone hurt your back
Dragging all them bags like that
I guess nobody ever told you
All you must hold on to
Is you, is you, is you

In order for me to get out of this mindset I have had to remove a lot of the negative triggers from my life. I am still removing some today.

I had to let go of folks in my life who were stuck at ceiling thinking. What I mean is this: Sit back in your chair and look up. What do you see? Unless you have a skylight then all you see is the ceiling. So many get stuck in believing that they will never get beyond the ceiling of life. That’s “ceiling thinking”!

If you step outside of your confines, you will see that the sky is the limit to what you can have. So I have removed folks who have “ceiling thinking” from my life.

What about those that you can’t necessarily remove.

I can’t get rid of my husband and my mother. And in their own way, each one has hindered my mindset of valuable self worth. My husband, as knowledgeable as he, lack the ability to support me in the way I need to be supported when it comes to business. My mother will talk negatively about anything she does not understand.

How do I handle them?

Prayer and a lot of love.

Sometimes you will have the naysayers who come right from your home. It is time like these that I think about how Jesus must have dealt with Peter and his lack or faith and Thomas and all his doubting. He did it in love, unconditional love and by getting on His knees for comfort and peace.

Eventually either they will get it or they will just leave it alone. I have learned that it is ok either way.

Another thing I had to learn to do was treat myself as God would. With a sense of dignity, respect and, yes, love!

I have self-sabotaged myself for way too many years and in turn I have slapped God in the face because I have told Him that He created me for nothing. I am worth nothing - I will never go beyond the ceiling in my life.

I have had to take steps to remove this thinking. The most important step has been scripture memorization and praying them out loud often.

One of the most important steps for me in removing the poverty mindset has to surround myself with the right people. People who are more positive and proactive in their thinking. People who see beyond the ceiling, even if that is their current circumstance in life.

I have also had to learn to take an honest look at my finances and take hold of them. I have been letting them lead the way for far too long.

Yet, another important step.

In my post yesterday I stated that God was giving me morsels as I move beyond the poverty mindset, and that I was not ready for the whole enchilada yet.

The reason why this is so is because I would fall right back into the same mindset all over again. I still have to heal from all the junk that is here.

I look forward in anticipation to getting my whole enchilada.

More to come!

What do you need to let go of?