What beliefs have you inherited?

Recording our family stories is like opening a treasure chest.  As we retell these stories, we discover that they are filled with precious memories, values, and life lessons.  We see how they connect us to our past - where we've come from - and how the lessons within the stories can guide us toward our hopes and dreams for the future.

Stories from our family help us understand who we are.  They give us the context of our backgrounds and help us see ourselves as part of a bigger picture. Knowing about the challenges and triumphs of parents and grandparents can be incredibly empowering.  Becoming aware of our family’s stories is like having a roadmap that shows us where we came from and how we became the person we are today.

Our parents and their parents had beliefs they passed on to us.  These beliefs can get hardwired into us and, unless, at some point, we identify them and make a conscious decision as to whether we actually agree with our parents’ beliefs, they can influence the future direction of our lives positively or negatively.

To take just one type of belief as an example, think about the things your parents said to you as you were growing up about money.  

‘Do you think I’m made of money?’

‘Money doesn’t grow on trees.’

‘Money doesn’t make you happy.’

‘A borrower nor a lender be.’

Do any of those sound familiar to you?

At what point in your life did you stop to question these beliefs? 

Or are they thoughts you still have about money even now, as a mature adult?

My own parents were very disciplined with money making a little go a long way.  They devoted their lives to working for a charity and giving of their money, time and talents has been in their DNA for as long as I can remember.

My parents don’t believe in debt. That belief was inherited from my grandad who would refer to debt as the ‘never-never’.

As I was growing up, my mother would sit down every week and update her ‘red money book’. To this day, she still does this.  Every penny is accounted for, and she diligently saves for things before buying them, for a rainy day and for unexpected expenses.

There wasn’t a lot of money, but I never felt like I went without.  I do recall some anxiety though around money.  One year, my parents chose to sell the washing machine to take us on holiday.  That still gives me a tinge of sadness as I think about the sacrifice they made.

As an adult with my own children, I’ve had to consciously consider the money beliefs I inherited from my parents. Which beliefs are important for me to keep and are there any that I want to change?

What values and beliefs did your family have about money? 

Just pause for a moment and consider how your parents' beliefs have played out in your life.  Perhaps you’ve hung onto some of those beliefs because they are values you also hold dear and it’s important to you to keep them.

Are there beliefs though that you’ve never stopped to consider? Negative beliefs that may not have served you as well as you wanted?

The experience of creating a book of stories and memories from your life gives you the opportunity to pause and reflect on the beliefs you inherited and how they have impacted your life for better or worse.  And if you discover a belief that’s holding you back, this is your wake-up call to change it!

Creating your book could just be one of the greatest gifts.  It's your opportunity to open the treasure chest of your family's beliefs and the chance to change the future direction of your life.

Is it time to create your book of stories?

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