“You define your money. You define the things around you. But money and the things around you can never truthfully define who you are.”
The Truth About Money By: Follow Deevra Norling (Huffington Post)
The truth is that the problem isn’t money. The problem is how we approach money, how we think about money and how we handle money. People who constantly think negatively about money, tend to be plagued by money problems their whole life. People who believe that money is something within their control, are the ones who become more successful and ultimately increase their money. Those are the people who instead of complaining about their lack of money, educate themselves about money. Financial intelligence is the basis for growing wealth.
Danielle LaPorte wrote in article Getting Emotional About Money, “I tend to think of money in the same way I regard time. It’s a form of energy. It comes and goes according to my intentions. The clearer my intentions, the more the money flows.”
A change in our financial situation starts with a change in how we think about money. Clearing out the negative thoughts about money will remove the blockages that are preventing money from flowing to us.
The Disastrous Pursuit of Money
While we should examine our feelings towards money and strive to manage money better, we should not allow it to consume us.
We all need money to live and money does make life easier and more comfortable and gives us access to better services.
Sadly, in today’s world, money is the center of many people’s lives, to the detriment of their health, family, and quality of life. Materialism and consumerism are driving people. Everyone is trying to keep up with everyone else with the best gadgets, cars, and houses. So deep is the need to impress that we feel embarrassed to tell our friends we can’t join them at that expensive restaurant when we don’t have money.
Again, what is driving this? It’s our emotions. We feel better about ourselves when we have the latest iPhone or walk around in designer labels. We want to impress people with how much money we have. Money validates us. Money makes us feel we are somebody.
If this is your relationship to money, you are on a slippery slope. These are the wrong reasons for chasing money. Money should enhance our lives, not run it.
There’s nothing wrong with these things per se. They’re nice to have. However, if your world revolves around this, then you’ve lost sight of what’s really important in life. What many fail to realize is that there are worse things in life than not having money. Having no loved ones, having poor health, having no friends to offer support during tough times, having no spiritual connection, having no purpose in life.
Changing Our Attitudes Towards Money
What we should be striving for is to develop a healthier relationship with money.
Money has such a powerful impact on people that a sudden gain or loss in money can have a profound effect on some people’s personalities and attitudes. It can turn a nice person nasty or a happy person miserable. It can inspire greed and selfishness. More money can actually be a bad thing for some people.
But in most cases, money will not fundamentally change who you are or what you believe. At your core, you will still be the same person with or without money. Similarly, if you are bad at handling a little money, you’ll be bad at handling a lot of money.
That initial elation at the sudden abundance of money quickly fades and you go right back to being the way you always were. That’s why the saying “money can’t buy you happiness” was coined. That initial joy is fleeting. There are many unhappy rich people.
The key is to find peace and contentment with or without lots of money. For once we have our focus in life clear and stop allowing money to have so much power over us, any changes in our financial situation will have a less devastating impact on our emotions.
…Suze Orman sums it up best. “People really do not have a clue at all,” she says with deep conviction. “They think the reason they are miserable — that they are an emotional wreck — is because they have absolutely no money. They honestly think that if they had more money they would have fewer problems. The problem is that it’s not true! The reason they don’t have more money is because of how they feel about their life and who they are. Who you are determines what you have and get to keep. You define your money. You define the things around you. But money and the things around you can never truthfully define who you are.”
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