Most economic and personal finance blogs constantly talk about crisis—crisis here, crisis there—almost as a default narrative. But while it is possible to focus on this mindset of scarcity, it is equally possible to change how we perceive our relationship with money and the broader economy.
Money Attracts Money
You’ve probably heard this phrase many times, and it’s worth asking why. One possible explanation is that “like attracts like.” Money, after all, is not just a physical resource; it is also a concept that triggers emotions and patterns within us, often shaping our financial behavior. Over time, we become accustomed to a certain financial comfort zone, and we begin to resonate with it. Unless we consciously work to expand those limits, we will continue to orbit within the same range of financial experience.
The only real way to improve your financial situation is to raise your comfort zone—to become comfortable managing larger amounts of money. This usually requires going through a temporary period of discomfort before the new level begins to feel natural.
Evaluate Your Financial Comfort Zone
Start by answering a few questions as honestly as possible:
What level of income feels “normal” to you, without causing stress from lack or excitement from abundance? At what income level would you begin to feel worried about covering your expenses? And what level would make you feel genuinely excited and financially secure?
What amount of savings feels normal without causing concern? How much cash do you like to carry to feel comfortable? How much would you need in your bank account to feel truly abundant?
You don’t need exact numbers—the goal is to identify the ranges in which you usually operate. These answers define your current financial reality, and this is the level you will tend to return to, both when things improve and when they decline, because it is where your comfort zone lies. If your income drops, you will likely work to get back into that range; if it rises significantly, you may unconsciously slow down once you reach the upper limit, simply to avoid exceeding what feels familiar.
Define Your New Comfort Zone
Once you understand your current financial range, recognize that these numbers are largely arbitrary and shaped by your environment. Your friends likely earn similar amounts, your expenses resemble those around you, and your workplace probably operates within a defined salary structure. If you were surrounded by people with significantly greater financial abundance, your own situation would likely rise to match that environment over time.
Mentally, these limits are always under your control. This is your comfort zone, which means you decide what feels normal. Expanding it is simply a matter of redefining those ranges.
There is no single “correct” answer, but aiming to double your current level is often a good starting point. In coaching, this approach is frequently used when people set goals that are too conservative. If you want to grow, you need to think bigger.
Clarify and Accept Your New Financial Reality
Now imagine what your life would look like at this new level—not as a fantasy, but as a realistic extension of your current situation. How would it affect your lifestyle? What changes and consequences might arise? Can you fully accept them?
One of the most common fears is losing connection with your current social circle. Would your new financial situation lead you to different activities or environments? How might others react? Are you prepared to deal with those reactions?
This is not a negative process; it is a natural part of personal growth, and your environment may not always evolve at the same pace as you do.
It is essential to visualize this new lifestyle clearly and to internalize it as something real. Even more important is accepting that you will operate at a different level. Are you ready for potential changes such as paying higher taxes, switching jobs, attracting different types of relationships, or spending more on higher-quality goods? Can you handle that reality?
This is fundamentally inner work. If you are not willing to accept the consequences—whatever they may be—it becomes extremely difficult to improve your financial situation.
Take Action
The next step is to break out of your current comfort zone and build the structures that will support your new reality. One effective way to do this is by changing the “scaffolding” that sustains your current habits. This usually requires only a small initial push.
Rather than forcing yourself into constant effort, focus on changing your environment in ways that disrupt old financial habits and support new ones.
Without becoming extreme or perfectionist, begin to eliminate behaviors that do not align with your new financial level, and start adopting those that do. If your current job does not provide the resources you need, you will eventually have to consider changing it. Remove what no longer supports your desired reality.
Start building relationships with people who operate at a higher financial level. Spend time in environments where you can experience the sense of abundance and quality you want to bring into your life.
Introduce small changes that begin to shape your new reality. When possible, choose higher-quality options than you normally would. This sends a message to your subconscious that you are allowing yourself to live at a higher standard. Gradually, your external reality will begin to reflect what your subconscious accepts as normal.
Symbolic Changes
If you cannot yet make real changes, begin with symbolic ones. Surround yourself with objects, images, or experiences that represent abundance for you, and reinforce the idea that your reality will evolve to match them.
As you work through these changes, your old comfort zone will start to feel less comfortable, while your new level will begin to feel more natural—even before you see tangible results.
Your income may remain the same at first, but it may start to feel insufficient. This creates internal pressure to take action and move toward your new, higher comfort zone.
At the same time, new opportunities may begin to appear naturally. Once you take advantage of them, changes can happen quickly, sometimes in a matter of weeks. The key is not to ignore these opportunities when they arise.
Enjoy the Results
However long it takes to reach your new financial level, enjoy the process and the small improvements that appear along the way. The real shift occurs when your external reality fully reflects your internal one—when you genuinely feel that your new “normal” is at least twice what it used to be.
Seen from this perspective, the idea of living in a time of crisis becomes much less relevant.