Money! It Makes The World Go Round
Money is one of those things that makes most of us crazy! You either have lots of it or none of it. It’s seems that we give this commodity a lot more power than we should, to the point that it actually controls our lives and base our beliefs and values systems on it. Sometimes, there comes a time when we really need to think of money for exactly what it is, a state of mind. Our attitude towards wealth and money seems more important than any other aspect in our lives. For some it is even more important than anything else in the world. Which, from my point of view seems very sad indeed.
Let’s think about it. How we think and feel about money seems to determine how we live in society these days. If we have lots of money, and a high paying job, then it seems logical to think that we are better off and positive about our future and in turn, others in society are likely to be attracted or think highly of us. However, If we don’t have a great deal of money, don’t have a job, or have the security of a permanent job, then we are much more inclined to develop disorders such as Depression and such as well as the opinion of other in society looking down on us for not ‘Keeping up with the Jones’.
To instigate change in our thoughts about money, either having or not, we really must start with changing our mindset and our predetermined opinions we have towards others around money and social prosperity. From change comes the power and determination to adjust and really see the real value in life.
Here are some things you may like to do for those situations where you feel uncomfortable when you spend money, or feel depressed about your financial state, or at any other time when you need to keep positive of your outcome in life.
Gratitude
Be Grateful for what you have. This may sound basic and like something your parents used to say to you when you were little, but, to be honest, it works. Take a notepad and write down all the good things that you have in your life. Don’t concentrate on what is lacking and don’t focus of material possessions or bank balances. Think of things like: Your Best Friend, the love of your dog, a roof over your head, the birds that fly around in the garden. the heat that makes your shower hot, the family members you have in your life and so on. Once you’ve done this, write a list of the things that someone from across the other side of the world might have to feel grateful for in life. Compare the two lists and really think about the differences in your answers compared to the answers in the other list. Chances are you will have a lot more to feel grateful for than you realise.
Self Esteem
Whenever you feel bad or negative about money, try to see it for it really is. Whenever you receive your paycheck or you get that payment deposited into your bank account from a client sale, why not pause for a moment and think to yourself “I’ve earned this money by working hard for it but I will not take it for granted. The money itself is only a reward for my personal efforts, it is not an acknowledgement of my status in the world.” To become successful is not just about how much money you have, it can also be about your reputation in your line of work. For me, being successful in my business is more about how many satisfied clients I have, rather than, how much money I have in the bank. My reputation in the business world and how far I have come in my journey is much more important to me than having money to flash around.
Money Journal
Creating priorities is essential to find the money you need for your own self-care. To decide what your priorities grab a note pad and create a list with these categories:
Amount Spent (e.g. $8.50)
On What (e.g. Books, Lunch, Songs or Apps)
Feelings (e.g. Felt guilty afterwards, Felt good to read to magazine)
Once you have written down all the things you have spent for one month have a look at the patterns and try to figure out what to spend your money on in the future. For example, I don’t enjoy buying my lunch but I love buying apps for my PDA, so I make my own lunch and save money every week to buy a $20 music voucher so I can buy more of the things I like. By paying attention on how you feel when you buy things you can rearrange your resources to better suit your real needs and feel good about the things you buy instead of feeling guilty or feeling bad.
Intuition
Next time you want to buy something you want, why not get in the habit of asking yourself:
Do I really need this?
Why am I buying this?
If I buy this will I still have enough money to pay for…?
Give yourself time to try to hear your inner voice of wisdom. Asking these questions will trigger your intuition and help you when you’re feeling unsure if you should buy that latest item or not. If you think about it before you act, you can think about the effect it may have if you buy it or if you don’t. It may leave you short for that power bill you need to pay next week or it might be okay to buy it this week but you may not be able to buy the following week.
When it comes to money, I agree it does make the world go around but I feel that there is way too much emphasis on how much of it we have and the importance that some of put on money as being seen as a successful person. If you have tips, stories or comments then I’d love to hear from you.