Saving for Retirement – The Truth

Saving for Retirement – The Truth

Most personal development trainers, life coaches, and self-help teachers tell us that the greatest hindrance to a shift in our Self-Image from negative to positive is the tenacity with which the established Self-Image fights to hold onto its seat of domination. By the way, the number one name given to this Self-Image is the Ego. Psychologists tell us that the Self-image or Ego is really an accumulation of many habits. Some of these habits are very good. The way you talk, the way you walk, the way you write are just a few of the habits that serve you well. There are many more habits that do not serve you positively and actually limit and prevent you from living more the life you deserve. The most destructive of the habits, as it relates to saving for retirement, are those that “tell” you that you are now as wealthy as you’re going to be unless you can “get lucky”. Somehow the Self-Image has so convinced you of this “fact” and you have “experienced” it so often that you have come to accept it as your “truth”.

Here is something about “truths” that you may not have considered. Some “truths” may be unreliable because some of them change. Do you remember accepting visits and gifts from the Tooth Fairy as the truth in your childhood? Is a visit from the Tooth Fairy a truth for you today? What about your beliefs about Santa Claus? Are they the same today as they were when you were a child? Most of us assume a truth to be something that was true yesterday, is true today, and will be true tomorrow. The two examples I just shared show that truths can and do change. So just what are truths? Truths are really habits, primarily habitual ways of reacting to what we see, hear, experience, feel, and think. This is especially true in terms of how we think and feel about money.

We tend to live our lives using our truths as our guiding principles. They also tend to be self-fulfilling prophecies for us. Since only about 3% to 5% of the population are fortunate enough to be born into an environment where the Self-Image is generously provided with thoughts, images, and experiences filled with success, financial abundance, and other riches, the remainder of the population have to go through a “makeover” of our truths to experience the same. I’m not speaking of a cosmetic makeover. I’m talking about some deep-seated, self-limiting habits and beliefs that have to be changed 180 degrees, in other words, to their exact opposite. Once you get started with the makeover, you must persist until you succeed.

Why not start now? Time is precious. Each minute, hour, or day that passes can never be re-lived. Persistence in developing new habits is the only way I have found to subdue old established habits. Hopefully, the exercises of preparing your “do want” and “do not want” lists, as well as the T. Harv Eker list, make a bit more sense. Do not forget nor neglect the tools. Your mind has far too many tricks waiting for you to be without them.

Sadly, statistics say that only a few of you who read these articles will actually muster enough energy and courage to put forth the effort and make the necessary changes to dramatically improve your financial situation so that you can generously contribute to your saving for retirement program. It’s not that you can’t make the changes. The effort really requires no hard, physical labor, and there are many economical self-help books and audio programs available on the market. What it takes is more understanding of how you got to where you are today financially, making a decision and a commitment to change, then persisting until you have what you want.

Remember, you do not have to live on less in retirement. No matter where you are right now financially, you can build and enjoy a Million Dollar Lifestyle Retirement.

Harold L Lowe retired at age 62 when his six-figure income position eliminated. He shockingly found a 50% reduction in his (combined pension and Social Security) income. He’s since learned that income reduction is faced by most paycheck-to-paycheck employees. You can get a copy of his Free, eye-opening Report “Saving for Retirement is not Enough!” at http://www.haroldllowe.com