While I do get a little tetchy with people who claim you can “manifest abundance” just by chanting (uh, NOPE! Gotta do the work, too!), I do believe that mindset plays a huge part in your money energy and your money story.
Do you find yourself living paycheck to paycheck or are always frustrated and stressed out about money? It can be more insidious too…Maybe you make plenty of money, but you always feel guilty about it, as though wanting abundance somehow makes you “greedy.” Or you might worry about taking your fair share, as though if you get more others will have less.
Don’t get me wrong – survival is good! We all need to survive, but if it feels scary to have any other bad feelings about it when it comes to thinking about your money, something needs to shift.
Changing your money mindset
Thankfully, thoughts and ideas can be changed! It takes some work, but you absolutely can reframe your thoughts and break through negative money mindsets.
If you feel like you might have a survival mindset problem, take a moment to ask yourself where it stems from. A lot of times, these “survival” instincts are handed down generation after generation or solidified early in childhood. Think about how your parents and grandparents felt about money. What did you do with money as a child, spend it or save it? Were you taught good money habits or were you chastised for your decisions around money?
All of these early experiences can shape how you feel about money.
Then ask yourself, is this the truth?
If we grew up when money was scarce, we might feel the need to save compulsively even when money isn’t scarce in our adult lives. Or, maybe you were somehow made to believe that a low-level job was the best you could ever hope to do. Is that true?
Create a solid plan
As I said, I know that mindset plays a big part in how we approach money, but the only way you will change things is with a plan.
Luckily, the survivalist in you will love a plan, because it is about of security! Developing some financial goals and then creating a conscious spending plan to help achieve them will help soothe and satisfy that part of yourself that is desperately craving security.
And, you might like some mindset conditioning. My friend Sukie Baxter took me through an amazing emotional “reset” (I am sure she calls it something different) when I was spinning out on something that happened to me months ago – essentially, I was holding onto the emotional trauma, and I needed to let it go.
You might have your own favorite modality. Just your willingness to own the issue and your desire to let it go helps you start to respond differently, when you recognize it in the moment.
If this is a step you need to take, I highly encourage you to download the Money Chakra free ebook (here in my free library) and learn more about how you can support both sides of your money — both the pragmatic side and the energetic side.
P.S. I also just updated my annual goal planners for 2018 to help you start the year out right – you can get them here.