How I'm Clearing My Money Lack Mindset
Man, I've struggled with a money lack mindset for my whole life, and I've finally just started clearing it. It feels so good that I wanted to help you clear yours, too!Last weekend, I attended a 4-day training for Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP). I had no idea what to expect; I just wanted to buff up my coaching toolkit.There were a lot of great takeaways from the experience, but perhaps my biggest personal takeaway was the talk we had about the money lack mindset.Dr. Matt, the president of the company who has been practicing NLP since he was 11 years old (no joke, dude), is one of the clearest-energy leaders of a training like this that I've ever had the pleasure to learn from. While I didn't agree with everything he taught (specifically his stance on health and fitness, but you know, we at Strong Inside Out are working hard to educate on that front), the way he described money was just the wake up I needed.
Spending from Lack
Dr. Matt explained that before we had the dollar or the shell or whatever, we had the barter system. I do something for you, you do something for me of equal value and we're both happy. Since we adopted the dollar, we've given so much of our power to it and lost sight of the value of the service we're paying for.He demonstrated (hilariously) an example of a person who spends in lack.
The example was struggling to pay someone for a service - hesitating, second-guessing, kissing the dollar as if he'd never see one ever again and finally letting it go with great reluctance and pain.
I was laughing outwardly, but inwardly I was like, "Oh fuck. That's been me for the past year."
As Strong Inside Out has been growing and getting up the cajones to act big in the Health space, I've had to expand beyond Team Just Me. I've brought on a team of two sharp, compassionate, driven women to help hone my message and a copy editor to help me craft the courses I'm redoing. It's been VERY uncomfortable especially because Strong Inside Out's income flow won't increase until all the changes are reflected on the site.
You see, I'm recovering from a money lack mindset.
I was taught from an early age that you have to be frugal and take care of yourself because no one else is going to do it for you. My Mom is a strong, independent woman and was the main breadwinner for my family. She was a great role model for me in that regard, but what I took from what I was taught was:
you can never save enough
bills are anxiety-producing and to be avoided at all costs
you always look for the cheapest offer - immediately disregard all higher-priced options
and that basically if you don't absolutely need something, you shouldn't buy it.
Luxuries? Ha! Those are for the super rich who have money to burn.Being the owner of my own company, those Mental Optics haven't been the most helpful. Unfortunately, I veered into the lack side of things and started focusing only on the money I was spending instead of the value I was receiving. It led me to feel very much like that hilarious example Dr. Matt portrayed above.
Spending from Gratitude
The next example Dr. Matt showed us was that of a successful person spending money.
With eye contact, confidence, conviction and GRATITUDE, Dr. Matt's example of a successful person shook the receiver's hand, gave him the money and said, "Thank you for the amazing value and service. Here you go."Then, he just walked away.
It made me realize in the moment that by acting in the lack mindset, I was losing sight of and devaluing what I was paying for.
The amount I've paid for what I've gotten over the last year has been WELL worth it. I mean, look at how far SIO has come in just 6 months!This realization alone has let me release my iron grip a bit and come back to gratitude. When it comes to what really matters to me, the money I spend is well worth it.What I didn't realize was how I'd been blocking myself from receiving because of how much of my power I'd given to the dollar. It brought to mind a recent convo I had with my therapist.My therapist reminded me that currency is just a form of energy. In order to receive it, we must give it and vice versa. If we hold onto it with all our might, we're blocking the flow of it back into our lives. Take it or leave it if it doesn't resonate with you, but that shit blew my mind.
Spending as if Health is a luxury
The same thing applies for when we invest in our Health. I used to think that spending more than the bare minimum on my Health was a luxury.I spent money like Dr. Matt's first example when I first started seeing my naturopath because I didn't know if it would work. Now that my hormones have regulated and my energy is a bajillion times better, I spend money there like it's necessary, because it is. I wouldn't go back to how I was feeling before if someone paid me!
Health and self-care are not "luxuries"; they're necessities to live the lives we're here to live.
I don't know about you, but I'm not on this Earth to "just get by." I'm here to have a fucking riot of a time, live it as fully as I can and leave it with more Love than before I entered this lifetime. That requires that I expand my budget beyond things that are required for basic human survival.It all comes down to honoring the value of the life we want to live.If you're feeling "stuck" in a money lack mindset, try journaling through these prompts:
How do you want to live and what's it going to take to get there?
What are you currently spending money on that's not leading you to the life you want?
What is your time worth?
How much time are you willing to spend waiting for the "perfect time" to start living the life you want?
Answering these questions for myself has made my chosen expenses much clearer and jolted me into action. I hope they serve the same purpose for you, too, and that they clear some of that lack away.Love and gratitude,Amy