Money 1: Limiting Money Beliefs

Wealthy: To Be or Not To Be…

Seriously? Who wouldn’t want to be wealthy?

As it turns out. Many of us, without really knowing why.

Even though we may think we’d like to be rich, we’re mostly unconscious to the limiting beliefs we have about money that block our ability to create wealth.

Our culture has so many negative stereotypes of wealth. We tend to equate it with greed and corruption. And let’s face it, there’s lots of evidence to back up that perception.

We seldom hear about the (many) uber-wealthy who donate billions of dollars to worthy projects around the globe.

We’re more likely to hear about those corrupt and soulless creatures who scam people out of their life savings just so they can buy a bigger yacht.

With these messages coming at us all the time, it’s no wonder we have so many mental blocks to attaining wealth for ourselves and our family.

And the trouble with these unconscious limiting beliefs is that if you’re not actively paying attention to what you’re thinking, your responses and actions will be driven by those beliefs.

When I started focusing my attention on what I was thinking, I was embarrassed to discover that too frequently, when I thought about people with lots of money, even though in my conscious mind I celebrate successful people, I had to face the part of me that assumed that they had probably sacrificed some of their scruples – sold a little piece of their soul – to attain it.

It was an uncomfortable realization to say the least.

Because that knee-jerk response didn’t jive with my known values, I had to ask myself;

• Where did that come from?
• What evidence do I have to support that assumption?
• Do I really believe that’s true?

When you shine the light of awareness on your auto-pilot views of the world, they begin to fade and lose their substance. And the truth unveils itself.

Rich & Spiritual – An Oxymoron?

We have this cultural idea that prosperity and spirituality are mutually exclusive, and that poverty and spirituality are linked. That through struggle and hardship we become more righteous and holy. (And too often we then feel we’ve earned the right to sit in judgement of others less ‘spiritual’ than us.)

But is that really true?

In the process of my self examination, I came across a quote that really impacted me.

I do believe there is value in living a simple life, focused on becoming a better human being and that seeking money for the sake of money is a waste of life energy.

But my question for you is this:

How much help can you give someone else
when you don’t have anything in your own pockets?

A drowning man can’t save a drowning man.

Reframing Money

Money is such a charged issue for most people. There is so much emotional, mental, spiritual and even physical baggage on it. (Money issues often show up as weight gain, especially around our middle body – 1st, 2nd & 3rd chakras.)

And yet we live in a culture that still largely relies on it as our agreed-upon representation for an exchange of energy, so it’s important we have some clarity about it.

The truth about money is this…

Money is simply a magnifier

Money will only make you more of who you already are. If you are intrinsically a good person, money won’t corrupt you.

But it can give you the resources to affect positive change.

And the greater your resources, the more massive the change.

Perhaps it’s time to challenge our common beliefs about wealth.

Try this experiment… and tell yourself the truth

• Notice the next time you hear about someone who has had a big success: Are you excited for them, or are you a little jealous?
• Notice when you see someone do something you’ve always wanted to do, but you haven’t had the courage (or the resources): Are you looking for their errors or imperfections?

Begin now to dig out all those subtle, negative knee-jerk thoughts about money. Because these beliefs are determining whether money comes to you or not.

Whatever you believe about money will always show up in your life.

Now think about this…

• How much good would you do, could you do, if you always had more than you need for yourself?
• How would you use money to magnify your values?

The Good News

The good news is that as you identify and question these stinky old money beliefs, you begin to see what’s been blocking you from attracting the resources you need to implement your greater vision.

Because truly, that’s what it’s really all about, isn’t it?

What about you?

What money beliefs have ensnared you, or would you like to let go of? Please share them in the comments below so we can all benefit from your insight.

• Read the next post in this series… Money 2: Common Money Misconceptions