« Your Beliefs About Money | Home | Stop Money From Leaving Your Wallet! »
Let’s Talk Money!
By jmh | February 1, 2006
Am I safe to assume that we all want to improve our lives, regardless of where we are and our level of accomplishment? Good, then let’s talk about it. Specifically, let’s talk about money and how our feelings about it affect our lives.
Money is a charged topic. It contributes to relationship stress and failure, it motivates some to resort to crime and others to excel in their fields. Overall, it triggers a wide range of behaviors and emotions in us. While many are comfortable with money many more experience an emotional roller coaster just thinking about it.
Since money is something we encounter almost every single day of our lives, shouldn’t we feel at ease with it? Shouldn’t we welcome it into our lifes and feel blessed by it? How is it that so many negatives have become associated with money (i.e. money doesn’t grow on trees, filthy rich, money doesn’t buy you happiness, etc.)? And how is it that many of us have adopted these negatives as truth?
We all know that money is not inherently good or bad, it does not buy us health or happiness (maybe better healthcare, less stress), nor does it ensure life or love. Money is simply a means to allow us to exchange goods and services. In a more general sense it has the exact value and benefit that someone assigns to it. If you belief that money is good, so will you experience your life around it. If on the other hand you view money as bad and don’t want to deal with it, your experiences with money most likely will be negative and troublesome. Let me suggest that what we believe and how we feel about money affects our lives to a much greater extent that most of us are aware of.
3 Steps To Start The Discovery
Find out what you think and how you feel about money. Take out a notepad and pen and write down your answers to the thoughts below.
1. Take stock of how you feel about money.
Listen to your self talk about money. Is it that you cannot afford something or that you ask how can I afford it? What were your family’s beliefs about money when growing up? What are their beliefs today? Ask yourself how your friends feel about money. It is said that what you focus on expands, that which you give energy to will grow. Remember, that this principle applies to positive and negative energy alike.
2. Check your beliefs: do they serve you or hold you back?
Making changes in any area of our lives begins with taking inventory of where we are: emotionally, physically and spiritually. When it comes to money this means: how do you feel about finances, what are your beliefs, do they serve you well or hold you back?
Where are you financially? What are your assets and your liabilities? How does your credit look? How much money do you make, how much do you spend and how much do you save? How well do you stick to your budget? (What budget?) What is the state of your investment and retirement programs?
3. Ask yourself where you want to go.
Do you want to retire early or not at all? Do you want to get by, be comfortable or be rich? Having a financial goal in mind is crucial. Without a clear goal it is difficult to follow a map or use any tools that might be available to you.
The analogy that comes to mind is that of travel. If you don’t know where you want to go it is challenging to pack the proper clothing, prepare the car, have the right paperwork on hand (passport, airline/bus tickets, guidebooks, etc.) and pack the correct maps. To pick the correct map you must know where you are AND where you want to go. Isn’t a different map needed to travel from Mexico to the US than for example to drive from Seattle to Portland?
Take stock of where you are today and where you want to go. Start this process today, start now.
Tag: Money & Mind
Topics: Money & Mind |
Comments
You must be logged in to post a comment.