The Bouncer in Your Brain

What have you been thinking and saying about money? I want you to really listen to yourself. Have you been saying things like, “I suck at managing my money,” or “I'm not a numbers person,” or “Making money is hard for me”?

How do you feel about your finances right now, especially when you say those kinds of things? Why is our money self-talk so important? Why does it matter?

There's a part of your brain called the Reticular Activating System, or RAS, which acts as a filter in your brain. There are billions of bits of information coming at you every single second. If you didn't have the Reticular Activating System, your brain couldn't handle the number of stimuli coming at you. This is your brain’s safety mechanism so you don’t end up like a little puddle of Jell-o on the floor because of overwhelm.

I want you to think of the Reticular Activating System as your brain’s bouncer. Whatever is important to you goes on the “guest list”, and the RAS lets those things "through the velvet rope" and into your awareness. If something is not important to you, or if it's something you disagree with consciously or unconsciously, it is denied entry.

Because of that, your Reticular Activating System will filter out stimuli that contradict your deeply held convictions. So, if you say things like, “I'm no good with money,” or “Making money is really hard,” your RAS will literally block out opportunities contrary to those beliefs. There might be a potential situation for you to make money that's relatively easy and effortless. Your brain will not even allow you to see it because your unconscious mind wants you to agree with yourself at its very core.

Scientists have conducted studies with people to see how the RAS filters out information in the environment based on beliefs. They told one group of people, “You are very lucky. You are so lucky, you even find money just lying on the street.” The other group, the control group, wasn’t told anything about being lucky. A few days later, they had each of the individuals in both groups walk down a certain stretch of street where the researchers placed a $20 bill on the ground.

Upwards of 80% of the people who were told they were lucky spotted and picked up the money. It was completely the opposite with the control group. Only about 20% of those people saw and found the money, even though it was in the exact same spot for everyone! That's because our Reticular Activating System lets in what we focus on. That's why it is so important to make sure your words about money line up with the results you want.

Now that you know your brain might be working against you, are you doomed to fail with your finances? Not at all! It's possible to learn how to work with your emotions, rather than fighting against them. You can supercharge your money goals with positive emotions, so you’ll want to do the right thing. You can use "tricks" to quickly release your negative emotions, so they’re not working against you financially.

But you first need to uncover what you’re thinking and saying about your finances. When it comes to money, think about what you’ve been thinking about. What are you saying to yourself—both out loud and in your head—when it comes to money? Are you saying things like this:

·???????“That’s too expensive.”

·???????“I’ll never pay off my student loans.”

·????????“I’ll never make enough money to get ahead.”

·???????“I don’t understand investing.”

?Pay special attention to the words you are using when you find yourself getting emotional about money. Do you notice any trends in your negative money statements??

Here's an exercise I have all my financial coaching clients do. Write down at least 10 negative things you think or say about money.?How can you flip those into positive statements instead?

If you want to dive deeper into the brain science of money and create a Magnetic Money Mindset?, you're going to love THIS!