There are a lot of reasons why we have trouble sticking to good habits or developing new skills that could improve our life. But more often than not, the biggest obstacle to change is sitting right inside your own head.

Your mind is a powerful thing -- and it controls your life a lot more than you may realize. In fact, the stories you tell yourself and the things you think about yourself and the world around you can either prevent or allow change to happen in your life. In turn, it can set you up for -- or prevent you from reaching -- the level success, or even joy, that you desire.

A “mindset” is defined as: a fixed mental attitude or disposition that predetermines a person's responses to and interpretations of situations.

We do not see things as they are, we see them as we are.

In other words, your mindset -- made up of your beliefs thoughts, and expectations -- is the lens through which you see and experience the world. We do not see our beliefs, our beliefs tell us what to see. It is our biased interpretation of events and experiences in life that creates our reality.

“Whether you think you can or think you can’t  – you’re right.” -Henry Ford.

We all tell ourselves stories about what we can do in life -- what we’re capable of being, having, doing, achieving and more. Your mindset, or how you view and experience life, is shaped by this internal narrative you tell yourself on a daily basis. Your own unique interpretation of life has been forming since childhood -- some of it learned from people around you and some of it based on past experiences.

This why changing any part of life can be very difficult – it requires challenging your mindset -- the thoughts and beliefs that have been there for as long as you can remember. Consequently, many people end up accepting their own, unwanted reality, because it’s easier than changing it.

It becomes a vicious cycle, but the good news is, it's one you can break – regardless of how bad things are or how bad things have been.

Changing the internal narrative you’ve been telling yourself your entire life isn’t easy – but it is possible.

“Change your thoughts and you change your world.” -Norman Vincent Peale

There is a direct connection between what we believe and what we do – so if you think, believe and expect that you will never be rich, the way you live your life will fall right in line with that philosophy. This mindset causes so many people to avoid trying to improve their life because they simply assume that they are not capable of doing so.

That limiting mindset causes you to lose out on opportunities to make more money and do more of what you love, because your mentality simply won’t allow you to see those possibilities.

Beliefs that prevent change:

• I’m not good enough

• I’m not smart enough

• I don’t have the education

• I don’t make enough money

• I don’t deserve it

• No one in my family is rich

And the list goes on…

When these thoughts dominate your mind, you begin to truly believe that you will never be able to make more money, you lose confidence in your abilities, and eventually, you stop dreaming big. These thoughts have created a reality in which you are sure that you aren’t capable of accomplishing what you want in life – and so you never do.

Instead of looking for evidence to prove these beliefs, start to look for evidence that proves the opposite.

Because the truth is, anyone can be rich – there’s plenty of money and opportunity to go around – you just have to start telling yourself a different story. 

New thoughts to begin telling yourself every day:

• I deserve to be happy

• I deserve to be rich just as much as the next person!

• I can learn more to get a higher-paying job (there are FREE online resources!)

• I can go after what I want and set an example for my kids/family etc.

Start paying attention to the things you tell yourself and how they make you feel. If you don’t like the feeling, begin to shift your focus to thoughts that excite, motivate and inspire you.

When you start to change the way you think, that's when real change can begin to happen in your life.

Another way to begin shifting your mindset is to think about what it is you want in life and why. Why do you want more money and how would your life improve because of it? The more specific you can get, the more motivated you'll be to go after it.

Why do you want to change your financial reality? A few reasons may be:

• Power

• Freedom

• Peace/Less stress

• The ability to buy the things you want

• Stability

• Confidence

You can start rewriting your story at any time. If what you’re doing now isn’t getting you where you want to go, then why not start doing things differently?

Start by forgiving your past and eliminating any self-blame regarding your life situation. We can’t control most of what happens to us in life, but we can control how we respond and how we choose to move forward.

You can’t begin the next chapter of your life if you keep rereading the last one. So what are you waiting for?