Money, money, money
It’s still a dirty word for some people. It still causes discomfort for others. What thoughts, emotions, feelings come up for you just be seeing that word: MONEY.
There’s a simple tool to use to find out what you really think about money. Personify it.
Imagine money is a person, what kind of person comes to your mind? If money was a person what would that person look like? Really get into the description. Is it a man or a woman? How old? What do they do for work? Where does he or she live? What kind of house? What kind of street? Is he or she married? Single? Straight? Gay? What does he or she look like? What kind of clothes does he or she wear? What kind of car does he or she drive? Does he or she have kids? What are her hobbies? Where does she hang out? Who are his friends?
And here’s the gem in the exercise. Ask yourself this: “Would I spend time with this person?” or “Would I call this person my friend”?
When some people do this exercise they realise that “money” for them is someone they can’t really relate to. That was certainly true for me when I first did this exercise. Some people even realise that “money” is a person they don’t actually like. Others end up coming up with a character like Gordon Gekko from Wallstreet. Ideas about money even cause many of us to pursue certain careers because we think: that’s where the money is. Forgetting that there are many other ways to attract money.
If this is what you’ve done, you need to realise that you have an attitude towards money that doesn’t resonate with you. It doesn’t appeal to you. And that could be why you’re funny about money. Is money something close to you, something that helps you and enhances your life? Or is it something far away that you can never quite get to?
The next thing to do is to change this image you have of money. Turn it into someone you can resonate with. Someone you would call a friend, someone you would enjoy spending time with. If you don’t, money will continue to remain something separate from you. Something that only “those people over there” have.
Coaches like Jack Canfield talk about replacing thoughts like “money is the root of all evil” with thoughts like “money is the root of all philanthropy”. Yes, it’s true that some people use unsavoury means to get money and use it for unsavoury ends. But that won’t be you, will it? So what are you afraid of?
Money is a mindset. Positive thinking isn’t enough. There are actions to then take consistently so that you become the kind of person that money is attracted to. It does however begin with telling the truth about what you really think about it.
So:
- What comes to mind when you hear or see the word: MONEY?
- If money was a person, what would that person look like?
- Can money become something you don’t have hang-ups about? Something that you can see enhances your quality of life and those of others around it as you share it with them?
- Do you see money as the root of all evil? Or the root of all philanthropy?
Mashariki 