I have been doing a TON of personal work around money, so I will be spending a few posts around this topic. I (like many of you) desire more money, but part of my work is defining “why”. The process has not been easy because it taps into the personal relationship I have with money, which starts way back to when I was very young. It starts with how I was educated and the stories I was told about money, which later became deep rooted beliefs. My parents divorced when I was five, so I had two COMPLETELY different exposures to money, although, I was with my mom full time until the middle of 8th grade, so her relationship with money impacted me the most.
My family was not wealthy by any means. My mother was raised very middle class. My grandparents lived a modest life, but were more well off than the norm. My mother, by every sense of the word, was spoiled. I think this created her own distorted beliefs around money. She felt entitled. She could hardly hold a job the entire time I was growing up. She had other issues around that, which I am not going to go into right now, but she truly felt that money should just be handed to her. She also didn’t have very good things to say about money. Always referring to it as “bad” and “only the rich can have it”. This was a common theme around our house, money is bad!!!
My father, on the other hand, is one of the hardest working people I know. I never remember one conversation around money that was negative. In fact, we never really talked about money. If he had it, he shared it. He took me shopping, to dinner, and driving trips all over Colorado. If he didn’t have it, we found no-money options to have different kinds of fun. He grew up in a large family with eight children, and by all rights, very poor. My grandmother taught all of her kids how to sew, cook, and work hard.
Now, I am very much my father’s daughter. But, unfortunately, I have ingrained beliefs around money from my mother. This is where my work comes in. My conversation around money used to be “money is only for the rich and I don’t deserve it because I am not working hard enough. Money only comes to those who are lucky enough to have it and those people are greedy and spiteful because they don’t share with those of us who desire and need it”. Wow, I started feeling really nauseous just typing that! This shows me how far I have come because now, my conversation has completely changed. I know this, because I feel excited now when talking about Money. I feel tingling in my limbs, and butterflies in my stomach, and I truly believe that Money is just waiting for me to open up the door and be ready to receive it. How did I get to this point? Well, I actually wrote down every negative thought, comment, or feeling I had about money. I then changed those thoughts, comments, and feelings into something positive. I also established Money as another form of energy in my world that deserves the same respect as I would give to another person. Now, I know that sounds a little outlandish to some of you, but if you think about it, we, as humans, are just balls of energy. No different than money. So, taking my negative statement and turning it into a positive one looks something like this:
Negative: “money is only for the rich and I don’t deserve it because I am not working hard enough. Money only comes to those who are lucky enough to have it and those people are greedy and spiteful because they don’t share with those of us who desire and need it”.
Positive: “Money is my partner. I am grateful for this partnership we have because I am rich! Money allows me to have everything I need and the ability to help others in need. I deserve Money to flow freely into my life.”
Challenge: If you are not experiencing the success around Money that you desire, write down all of your negative thoughts and beliefs around Money. Dig deep! If you are like me, they may be buried so far down that you have to actually pull them out. Do this in a quiet space with no distractions. Focus on how you feel as you write them down. Next, take each one and make it into a positive thought, belief, or even your daily affirmation around money. Say them out loud, and again, tap in to how your body feels when you say it. If you start feeling excitement, joy, elation, or anything positive, you are on your way!
My next post, is going to discuss my “why” around desiring more money, so stay tuned!
