STOP LETTING PRIDE KEEP YOU BROKE
Stop letting pride keep you broke. Have you ever spent money to fulfill a desire to please others? Maybe it is a high-priced clothing item purchased, expensive purse, new vehicle, or dinner at an overpriced restaurant. You knew the cost was more than you could afford but in your mind, the pleasure would be worth the sacrifice. No matter what the expense is if the main reason for making the purchase was to fit in you have fallen victim to this mentality.
Stop letting pride keep you broke
When I was in high school name brands seemed to matter to everyone. I grew up in a large one-income family and money was scarce. Most of my clothes were hand-me-downs or from a thrift store. There were many times that I would struggle with self-worth due to comparing myself with others. In my mind, everyone had better clothes, homes, cars, and pretty much everything. This was another financial pitfall that I have repeatedly struggled with over the years.
In high school, I remember a church retreat that I went on at the age of 16. At that time I was feeling so inadequate and self-conscious about what I wore. I struggled to find the right clothes to take with me because some of my best clothes were not a brand name but were cheaper no-name brands. I remember replacing tags in my clothing with name brand tags from other clothing just in case someone might happen to see they were not designer names. At the age of 40, I look back on this with sadness for my younger self that the world was successful at making me feel that way. If I could only tell my younger self that my worth came from so much more than the brand of clothing I wear. However, the influences all around me at the time would probably have loudly opposed this and won my attention once again.
What I needed to remember at this time was this bible passage below in 1 Peter.
“Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. ”
How to ensure that pride does not control you and your finances
Know your motivation for each purchase and give it careful consideration
Recognize your value does not come from what you own, what you wear, or anything you can ever purchase
Healthy financial goals and spending
Evaluating your motives before purchasing things can help you create a more healthy and stable financial life. The less you allow your financial life to be controlled by your emotions and unhealthy desires to please others the more you will find financial freedom and joy in life attainable.
Learn to define healthy and unhealthy spending habits so that you can easily determine if a purchase should be made. To do this you need to do some soul searching and understand yourself better so that you can make this determination. Is the purchase or desire to purchase influenced by outside factors? Chances are that if it is this could be an unhealthy choice. Your situation will often vary so you will need to decide this on your own. As you do ask yourself these questions.
Is this motivated by an outside factor or desire to please someone else?
Am I afraid to say no because I fear rejection?
Do I feel inadequate or unworthy?
Would I be better off financially if I did not make this purchase?
Can I do without this expense or is this something I need?
Dealing with the feeling of acceptance and rejection
Many of us struggle to feel that we are good enough. We want to be accepted and do not want to feel inadequate. While we struggle to fit in, to own whatever we feel we need to own to be accepted we are missing something important in life. We will never feel like we are enough if we continue to chase these desires to please and feelings of inadequacy. The only way that we will ever find true joy in life and learn to love ourselves is by recognizing that this type of thinking is all wrong. We need to realize that our worth does not come from anything that we can do or acquire in life.
Who are you really and where does your worth comes from?
We are all created to be beautifully diverse and wonderfully made by the creator of the universe. He has created you to be a unique and wonderful person just as you are right now. What you need to realize is that nothing will ever make you more beautiful or more desirable than accepting who you were created to be and embracing your strengths and unique abilities.
You are special and you can do things as no one else can. Why would you want to be like someone else? Accept and embrace the uniqueness that you were given and learn to be content with what you have and who you are today.
Focus on becoming a better version of yourself. Learning to embrace your strengths and weaknesses.
Your worth IS NOT in the money you have, the car you drive, a career you have, clothes you wear, or even in how you look. You do not need to buy anything or look a certain way to be any more valuable.
Pride will keep you broke
If you never accept the truth you will continue to chase satisfaction in material things. In doing this you will always struggle financially because you will always find something else that you need to fulfill a new unmet desire. The reality is that those desires will never be met by the items you purchase or the satisfaction that you are seeking. They will just continue to evolve into more disappointment and more desires that are always fleeting. Keep in mind that to live a joyful life you have to let go of unhealthy attitudes and embrace new sometimes unfamiliar concepts. In this case, releasing yourself from the desire to please others and choosing to live joyfully by accepting the beauty of who you were created to be. Begin to reflect on what makes you beautifully different and remember where your worth comes from and it is not from anything that you can buy or own.
