rich vs poor mindset

it’s strange how early you learn about money without ever really learning about it. most of us grew up absorbing quiet lessons about rich and poor long before anyone handed us a bank card or a salary slip. the lessons weren’t formal. they lived in side comments, in the way adults tensed when bills came up, in the way some things were considered extravagant and others were considered responsible. we learned what could be afforded, but more than that, we learned how to feel about it. and somewhere in that emotional education, many of us absorbed an even deeper script—the idea that wealth isn’t just a number; it’s a mindset. and poverty isn’t just a bank balance; it’s a way of seeing the world.

i used to think “rich mindset” and “poor mindset” were just motivational poster slogans. like those blurry instagram quotes about “manifesting abundance” if you think positive thoughts aggressively enough. but the older i get, the more i realize how much mindset matters—not because money isn’t real, not because luck and privilege and systemic factors aren’t massively important (they are), but because the way you mentally inhabit the idea of enoughness shapes everything about the life you build.

rich mindset isn’t about luxury. it isn’t about being flashy or owning things. it’s about believing, deep down, that the world is an expandable place. that there’s more where that came from. that mistakes aren’t fatal, that resources can replenish, that generosity isn’t foolish. it’s the idea that life is more often abundant than scarce, that opportunities aren’t as finite as fear makes them feel. poor mindset, on the other hand, isn’t about being broke. it’s about living emotionally as if you are always five minutes away from ruin. it’s hoarding affection. it’s rationing joy. it’s refusing to rest because you’re convinced that peace is something you have to earn and even then might not deserve.