6 Ways to Increase Your Income by Changing Your Mindset

There are many great blog posts, articles, and courses about how specifically to earn more money. But all of these articles assume that you are ready to earn more. You probably think that you’re ready to earn more money, but the truth is that many of us are held back by internal assumptions, mantras, fears that prevent us from actually stepping out and increasing our worth. So instead of listing specific tips about how to increase your income (If you’re looking for tips, here are a few good posts: decide how to make more money, how to make more money at work, how and why to find a second job, how to make money on the side) this post is about how changing your mindset can help you earn more.
Let me start by saying I’m not one of those people who believes in the Secret. That’s just not my style. I don’t think that just because you think about something or and visualize it for long enough it will automatically happen. I’m not going to tell you to start “sending your intentions to earn more money out into the universe.” But I do believe that our minds can hold us back. And instead of looking outward for answers, it’s best to look inward.

Here are six things to change your mindset about in order to earn more money:

Time

Tomorrow’s Women’s Money Week topic is all about time, so read those posts to learn more about time and money. But the bottom line is this: many of us (myself included) frequently tell ourselves that there’s not enough time. We say, “if I only had more time” I’d be able to: start a freelance business, blog more, work overtime at work, or take a second job to earn more money. But the thing is, you do have time to do those things. You just have to change your mindset and think about time differently.

Instead of saying “I don’t have time to earn more money” start saying “I will use the extra time in my day and week to start earning more.” Think about how you could be spending your time differently so that you are using even the smaller amounts of time in your day more mindfully. If you don’t recognize the extra hours you do have in your life, you’ll never be able to use those hours for anything, including earning more money.

Your Value and Worth

There are two ways a person’s perceptions of her worth holds her back. Either you think you’re worth far more than you are and thus you turn down gigs because they don’t pay enough. Or you undervalue yourself. The only way you are going to earn more is if you change your view of your value and worth. Start thinking of yourself as being more valuable, produce a work product that is worth more to your clients, and then raise your rates. Or, if you overvalue your worth, be open to any job that pays extra money and take smaller steps to grow your business from there. Or switch paths as a different job may line up better with your view of your worth.

What You Can Do To Earn More Money

Don’t get stuck in the trap of thinking that you can only earn more money if you do [fill in the blank]. A even worse trap to be stuck in is thinking you would only earn more if someone else did [fill in the blank]. The reality is that you can earn lot of money by doing a lot of different things. Instead of thinking that you (or someone else) just needs to do one thing to help you earn more, step back and think of four other things that you could do to earn more – no matter how small or simple these things are. Stop pursuing the one avenue that currently isn’t working and try something new.

Your Job

What are the things you tell yourself over and over about your job and money? Do you say, “I don’t like my job but I could never find a new one because the economy is too bad.” Or maybe your mantra is: “I need to go to grad school to advance in my line of work.” Or maybe it’s “I’d like to quit my job and do [x], but I can’t, until [y] happens.” Or, “I will never get a promotion because there’s no room for grow at this company.” When you tell yourself these things they become true. Instead, come up with a new mantra that you would like to be true and repeat that.

Your Salary

I don’t know a single person who believes that they get paid the salary they want and deserve. Most people believe are certain they deserve a larger salary. And this may actually be true for a lot of women whose male counterparts are earning more. But just believing you should earn more isn’t enough. Instead, you need to believe that you can do something about it. Perhaps it’s asking your boss to pay you more. But a better idea is to ask your boss what you can do to earn more. That is, instead of believing that you deserve more for what you’re already doing, start thinking about what you could or should be doing to deserve an increase in salary.

There’s another common culprit about salaries that holds us back from earning more. That’s the belief that our salary is the only way we can earn more money. The reality is that millions of people in every single profession earn more by doing things on the side. Whether you’re a part time waitress or a doctor with a full-time practice, your salary does not have to limit you.

Your Belief About the Power of Your Own Mindset

Until you recognize the extent to which your mindset can hold you back, you will never be able to earn to your fullest potential. Each of us has our own mantras – the things we tell ourselves or others day after day, week after week. These are the things which help us cope with our own unique and sometimes trying situations. Sometimes our mantras come in the form of excuses. Sometimes they are just the lens through which we see everything else. But until you can step back and identify what that mantra and mindset is, you won’t be able to move past it. The biggest mindset to change to increase your income is to recognize that if you shift your mindset about what’s holding you back you’ll be able to earn more.

The Bottom Line

What’s holding you back from increasing your income may be your own mind. Think through each of the items above and figure out the one or two things that you say to yourself day after day. What do you tell yourself about time, your job, your salary, your worth, your own power to make a difference in your life? Next, write down what you’d like to believe about that thing instead. Perhaps it’s “I do have enough time.” Or “I do earn a fair salary.” Finally, add an action to that mantra. So it would become “I do have enough time and I’m going to start using my hour after dinner for my freelance business instead of watching TV.” Or “I do earn a fair salary and I’m going to work with my boss and company to figure out what steps I need to take to earn a raise.”

What is the mindset that’s holding you back?