Asha Acuoth, Mindfullness Coach
"I was born during a time of war in Sudan, my parents fled one night leaving their jobs, home, belongings and took nothing but family photos. My parents and 6 siblings fled to the nearby country of Ethiopia where I was then born. My family continued to live in refugee camps across several countries during my early childhood through to my early teens. Even with these humble beginnings, I was able to see my parents go out to work and continue to persevere through adversities.
As I reflect back to my childhood, I recognize the sense of fulfillment even with little money in our household. However this was the start of my scarcity mindset as my parents lived “paycheck to paycheck” each month. My parents made sure that our needs were met and they always had hopes that things will get better. That wish became a reality 16 years ago when my family moved to Melbourne, Australia.
Fast forward to my earlier 20s, I moved out at 22 years old with zero financial literacy. I made financial decisions that haunted me until my late 20s. However, I found myself living the same scarcity mindset with money. Even with high paying jobs, I managed to live paycheck to paycheck each month. I believe that financial literacy is pertinent to financially freedom.
On a positive note, my relationship with money has shifted over the last 12 months to be something that affords me to have options rather something I need to keep me afloat aka survive. At age 29 years old, I enrolled to study a Professional Life Coaching Course, as this was a huge financial investment. I realized that I needed to sort out this dysfunction that impacted my finances. I studied an online program that was part of my coaching course on ‘wealth mindset’. This transformed my relationship with money and wealth.
As a Mindset/Mindfulness Coach, I vividly recognized my negative scripts of a scarcity mindset that stemmed from my childhood. I understand that I’m in the early stage of my journey towards an abundance mindset. I can definitely see the correlations between my upbringing and how that manifested in the choices I took and also the lessons learned to get educated on financial literacy.
True wealth for me means to live in a purpose driven world where I’m contributing to the causes that are dear to my heart and having the money to make this dream a reality. However I may not be there yet, but with a clear why, and sense of purpose, it’s my dream to leave a legacy of financial abundance for my family and also educate other young women to create a mindset of abundance.”