Even if you are saving for retirement there’s a good chance that the amount you’ve saved or are projecting to save before retirement does not put you into the financially independent category. There’s also a good chance that the amount you are contributing as has not changed dramatically either. And there’s a good chance that the circumstances that are preventing you from saving more have not gone away.
Now when you consider these circumstances in relation to the effect of the part one of the Law of Inertia (A body at rest will remain at rest until put into motion by some force), they have probably been on auto-pilot in your life for some time. To bring about changes in these circumstances, more money to save for retirement, more money to move you to financial independence, and eliminate more of the limiting influences from your life, is going to take bringing a powerful force into the picture.
The powerful force I recommend is using affirmations along with the rubber band and overwhelm technique. Allow me to offer an illustration. The affirmation I am going to use in this example has “saving for retirement” as the objective. I will outline some suggestions for crafting effective affirmations in a subsequent article. The affirmation you repeat is: “Every day in every way, I have more and more money to save for retirement.”
Remember, an affirmation is simply a statement that is made and stated as if it is true. You will recall from the article on the Self-Image and the Ego that any new truth introduced to your mind that is incongruent and does not fit in with the presently stored information is going to be vigorously opposed. It is at that point that the Self-Image is going to unleash a stream of contrary thoughts that support its position that your affirmation is utter nonsense. You will receive thoughts like, “You know you don’t have any more money coming in.” “Where is this new money coming from anyway?” “Even if more money were coming in, you have all of these other things that you need that additional money for”. “This affirmation stuff is just plain silly and a waste of your time.” These are the tail-enders that I mentioned in the earlier article.
As soon as you notice the presence of any of these or similar thoughts, snap the rubber band against your wrist and that slight sting will momentarily stop all thoughts. You should then politely but firmly inform the thought or thoughts mentioned in the previous paragraph that their services are no longer needed and they should depart from your mind right away. You should then immediately begin repeating the affirmation, “Every day in every way, I have more and more money to save for retirement.”
Repeat it as enthusiastically as you can for as long as you can each time. It is the act of regular and continued (and as long as you can each time) repetition of the affirmation that is the force that now moves your mind to focus on the outcome of the exercise more and more. It is by these acts that you overwhelm the negative thoughts and activate part two of the Law of Inertia: A body in motion will remain in motion until opposed by some force.
Psychologists say that repetition of affirmations in the above manner can establish that statement as a habit in 21 to 30 days. I recommend you stick with each affirmation for the 30 day period. In fact to make it easier, begin each new affirmation at the beginning of each month and continue throughout that month. Whether the month is 28, 29, 30, or 31 days, the number of days still falls within the 21 to 30 days psychologists suggest are needed to develop a new, habitual way of thinking related to saving for retirement.
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.