Christina-Stavroula Spyropoulou
Lawyer
Master NLP Coach, Athens

Finding myself in the middle of an economic crisis for the last five years, I kept wondering how we were led in that situation. And it’s not only the economic facts, numbers and global systems I am referring to. It’s our own mindset and thus the way we think that are suffering from a serious crisis.

According to my perspective, we are not dealing with just a financial crisis that guides us to lack of development and consequently to lack of money. We are dealing with something bigger than this; A personal, national or even universal value’s crisis.

We are usually raised up by our families and within societies, with a certain set of beliefs about financial security, such as: “Set yourself in a steady and secure job”, “steadiness and security are more important than a higher and more risky income”, “avoid professional risks”. So, young people adjust their actions and energy to seek for a steady income putting aside their self values and talents. And this kind of mindset justifies the reason why so many young and talented people pursue low income jobs, neglecting their passions, dreams and creativity.

Moreover, it’s not the financial crisis that forced people into this way of thinking, but the thinking itself that directed to certain actions and choices as part of a general crisis.

Furthermore, we are raised up believing that we have to save money for case of an urgent necessity. But did we ever truly weigh the consequences of such a thought pattern? Being preoccupied with worries and helpless feelings before the unexpected, keeps us static and weak. In addition, the financial environment itself comes to reinforce our fear for any kind of evolution or personal development. Investing to our biggest and most important asset, our self value, is something we were never taught. Being capable, therefore, of handling any kind of situation (financial/social/personal) that occurs, and creating anything out of nothing, is not a familiar process. So, moving forward, recognizing and opening ourselves to new opportunities seem like latent attributes. Eventually, we are stuck in the middle of a financial, and more important, a personal dead end crisis.

This kind of mentality and mindset justifies the lack of entrepreneurship and development. A ‘hydrocephalus’ state has been created, with no opportunities to young entrepreneurs and start-ups. On the other hand, a complete different value’s system structure could be formatted from a brand new mindset and behaviour. For instance, gifted people finding opportunities and jobs away from this limited set of beliefs, do brilliantly!

To put it in a nutshell, it’s not the financial crisis that led us to a fearful and limited mindset. It is our own limited thinking, standing far away from any kind of financial creativity and freedom.

It is our own value system that should be totally reset in order to lead us to a totally new reality.

And this would be my wish for 2016. Adopting new beliefs based upon emotional, thinking and financial abundance!