We hear many pithy sayings and cliches when we are children without appropriate context, and I am becoming more and more aware of how they can lead to lifelong unhelpful, obstructive, and even damaging beliefs - and we may never even realize it.

A few months ago, I wrote a blog about the phrase “making ends meet”, and how a simple metaphor can be misunderstood by the subconscious.

I recently discovered another such saying:

"You've got to spend money to make money."

Now, to the logical adult conscious mind, it's easy to understand that this phrase means that a person needs to invest in things that cost money up front, but pay off in the long run. It's a saying about delayed gratification, and short-term pain for long-term gain.

However, to the literal, illogical, creative, and emotional subconscious mind, it's a magical equation that is reconfigured simply as "I want to make money, so I should spend money.”

We start hearing these kinds of phrases when we are children, when we don’t have the context or experience to grasp what the saying means… and the subconscious mind does what it does best… it makes sense of it. It creatively applies meaning to it.

Do you find that when finances are tight, your response is to go shopping… or to a book shop… or out to a restaurant… or to commit to big vacations? When you are feeling a pinch in your pocket book do you find your self dipping into credit to buy things you can’t really afford?

It may be that you are caught in an old (and mistaken) belief that by spending money you will magically cause money to find you! Because, as the saying clearly says, to make money, all I have to do is spend it!

Exploring obstructive habits through hypnosis leads to realization and release. It’s kind of like upgrading the software so that the whole system can run more effectively.