Money Stress
Money stress got you down? Did you know you don’t have to be stressed about it? People think money stresses them out, but it can’t stress you out.
Money is a circumstance. That means it is neutral, neither good or bad. It is just a number on a bank statement or some paper until you think about it. What do you think about money? How does that thought make you feel? Let’s explore some different thoughts people have about money and how it might affect them.
I don’t have enough money.
If you are thinking a version of this thought then you might feel stressed or worried. What do you do from worry. Perhaps you worry the money will run out, so you stock up on things on sale whether you need them or not. You might think about how much money you don’t have. What you think about the brain looks for evidence that is true, so you start collecting stories of how that is true. This can lead to feeling sorry for yourself.
May you think I don’t have and never will, so you just use your credit card. Now you have debt too. But overall if you think you don’t have enough money then you make sure you don’t have enough.
I seem to always have enough money.
Let’s compare “I don’t have enough money” to some version of “I always have enough.” If you think you have enough, you might feel calm. When you are calm, you might budget and stick to it. You aren’t buying things trying to feel better, so you spend less money on unwanted things. You are open to other ways of making your money stretch far enough. Ultimately creating a life where you have enough.
Money is hard to earn.
Did you grow up hearing money doesn’t grow on trees? Or maybe that it takes hard work to earn money. What do these beliefs about money create for you. Let’s say that you are going to be short money this month in your budget and you believe money is hard to come by. You might feel stressed or overwhelmed.
From overwhelm you might freeze and not do anything to earn more money. Or you might think it’s too hard to get another job or earn some extra cash. Money stress can keep you stuck on thinking about how you don’t have enough instead of brainstorming new ways to come up with more.
But in the long run, you make it hard on yourself to earn money if you earn any at all. It is hard work for you to earn that money.
Money is fun to earn.
Let’s explore “money is fun to earn” instead. How might you feel if you thought that. Maybe some excitement? From excitement you would work on finding ways to earn money. Come up with a list of possibilities and start working on a fun option.
You don’t dread trying to earn money, so you put more time into trying. In the end you have fun while you earn yourself the money you need for your budget.
Review
What is the harm in trying a new thought on about money? Nobody says you have to keep believing it if you don’t like the results you get. Thoughts are like clothes, you try them on. Keep the ones that work for you and put the others back. What thoughts might you try about your money situation.
Need help coming up with different thoughts to try on? Hop on a free call with me. Together we can try on all sorts of thoughts. Kind of like going shopping for a new wardrobe. When we’re done you feel great about yourself. Simply click on this link and schedule a time that works for you.
Until Next Time
-Keira
