As we move closer to winter, and therefore the holiday season, it is time to increase awareness on your money energy since money is a big part of it these days. That’s why it is SUPER important to remain mindful of your relationship with money and where your decisions are coming from. Be aware if money is stressing you out, decreasing your energy or elevating your joy.
What Does Money Mean to You?
Since many (not all) of my clients have money blocks I’ve started to really research where this comes from. I couldn’t make sense of why I, who struggled so hard in the past and have seen dire times, have a fairly healthy relationship money. As I have worked through various exercises to see what it would feel like for my clients, my money story has unfolded and it’s really cool.
Money has always meant freedom of choice to me with no attachments of guilt, greed or anger because I earned it (since I was 12!), and therefore believed I had the right to spend it as I saw fit. No one else has ever had an influence my feelings around it because they had nothing to do with earning it. The one hang up I did have around feelings of scarcity in the midst of abundance (due to single mom syndrome and despite my hard work and good income) I naturally worked through because of my husband’s leadership early on in our marriage.
Learn How to Use Money as a Tool
If living my story wasn’t enough, I also actively worked on growing in this area. As a young adult I read lots of books about money and wealth, learned about money from a retired G.E. executive who took me under his wing, had jobs that placed me in the lives of the wealthy (so I saw what it really looked like in normal, non-celebrity life AND how celebrities really lived); and I went through Financial Peace University…TWICE. (I don’t agree with everything in that program, and am honestly not a Dave Ramsey fan; however it was a money growth opportunity that was available at the time.)
Practice Gratitude to Achieve Abundance
Again, gratitude is a HUGE part of abundance. And what better opportunity then during a gift giving frenzy to truly be grateful for the things you get or are given.?
For example, if a co-worker drops off another coffee mug full of candy on your desk, don’t just mindlessly throw it in your candy dish or drawer. Honor it as something that you didn’t have before and that somebody thought to give YOU. In other words, recognize that the energy and intention behind the money spent to create that was totally directed towards you. You don’t have to eat it, but DO reflect on your feelings of gratitude in the moment and you will set the stage for more to be given to you in so many ways in the future. I don’t know why this works, but it does. I could tell stories for days of how honoring even the smallest money wins (finding a five dollar bill in a winter coat) manifested even more abundance in my life.
Also, be grateful for what you do have if you ever hope to have more. Wish your Christmas tree was bigger? That you had more money to spend on the kids’ presents? That you could afford to paint the house before Thanksgiving?
Try being grateful that you have a Christmas tree to gather around as a family to create memories that won’t be about how big the tree was.
Celebrate that you have healthy children and the means to celebrate with a few MEANINGFUL gifts. After all, Christmas is not about the quantity of gifts per kid, anyway! (And if it helps with perspective, check their closets for the stuff you got them last year that meant so much it ended up in the back corner of their closet.
One year I was so broke I knew I could hardly get my kids anything. Yet despite not wanting a kitten myself, I knew that would MAKE their Christmas, no matter what else was under that tree. And it did. No one was counting how many gifts they unwrapped because they were too busy playing with their new and deeply loved pet.
And finally, if you have people who love you enough to come to your home for Thanksgiving, focus on THAT gift and let go of how perfect or imperfect the house is that affords you that opportunity of fellowship.
See how that works?
Overcome Your Money Blocks
So just know that with every step you take towards resolving your money blocks, you open yourself up to new levels of abundance.
Easier said than done, I know. So allow me to share two of my favorite resources to help sharpen your perspective of money and direct you to tools and exercises to grow in this area: my dear friend Austin Netzley’s “YoPro Wealth” podcast and NEW BOOK “Make Money Live Wealthy” and Denise Duffield’s book “Get Rich, Lucky Bitch.” Start there and I think you might just find that you will not only become hungry to learn and grow more, but you will start to get (and recognize) significant results.
Where are you money blocks or how have you overcome your money blocks? Share in the comments…I want to hear from you!