How To Be Financially Free Today
Without making tons of money
If you’re constantly worrying and stressing about money, it comes down to 2 things:
- How money makes you feel
- What you do as a result of how you feel
Most people think that to improve their financial lives, they should start with point 2 — what to do about their financial situation.
They make a financial plan based on the money they want to make or the life they want to have.
While that’s a necessary step, it isn’t the first and only one to take.
That’s because money is an emotional topic.
Yet most of the advice you hear tells you to remove emotions from your financial decisions and actions.
This kind of advice is not helpful.
You don’t have to and shouldn’t have to remove emotions from your life.
What you want to do is learn to handle them, not just about money but how you feel about anything, so you always have calm and clarity of thought and actions.
Not knowing how to handle your emotions about money is the reason despite having more access to financial information now than ever before, many people feel more insecure and stressed about money than ever before.
This never made sense to me.
If logic and rationality were all we needed to be financially successful, why aren’t more people able to do it?
Finding the answer to this question has been my mission for the past decade.
Here are the lessons I’ve learned.
Preying On Your Natural Survival Instinct
The dominant financial advice out there preys on your instinct to survive.
This instinct is fear-based.
Your survival instinct is to run away from or fight a potential predator.
In the modern day, one such fear is around money — not having enough of it or losing it.
To prevent this from happening, we’re told to save for a rainy day and invest for our retirement.
Both scenarios are about not having enough if we don’t do what they say.
The consequence is certain suffering that feels like ‘death’.
So we run harder on the hamster wheel, trying to make more money and have the lifestyle we want, save, and invest in our future.
Such fear-based behavior comes from a mindset and attitude of lack and scarcity that tells you if you don’t do this, you’ll run out and it won’t be enough.
There’s nothing inherently wrong with learning to manage your finances and I’m all for it.
Neither am I criticizing and blaming the financial industry.
I just think it’s ignoring a very big component of why people do seemingly irrational things when it comes to money — their emotions.
Adopting such an incomplete, scarce, and fear-based attitude to your finances makes it stressful and scary.
This is counterproductive to creating the financial future you want.
Tapping Into Your Potential As A Powerful Creator
What if there’s an alternative to creating the same outcome but done more enjoyably?
The good news is, there is, and it’s accessible to anyone.
This alternative begins from a deep knowing that you have everything you need to create anything you want.
It’s a completely different way of thinking, feeling and being.
This way of living is power-based, not fear-based.
It taps into your power as a human being to create the reality you want.
It begins in your mind and heart.
From here, springs decisions and actions that pull you toward what you want, instead of running away from what you fear.
This makes the action you take compelling.
For the people operating from a fear-based perspective, such action is called the drudgery of work and effort.
But for those who choose to operate from a power-based perspective, this is the thing they can’t not do.
Power-based people live in a world of infinite possibilities.
There’s always more than one way to look at a challenge and plenty of potential answers and solutions.
Everything they see, touch, and feel is filtered through a lens of abundance, including money.
Since they live in a world of more than enough, they don’t fear not having enough or losing money.
They know they will always be able to make things work and figure things out, knowing more is always coming their way.
Imagine what it’s like to live like that.
How liberating and powerful does it feel?
Live In A World Of More Than Enough
When you no longer worry and stress about money, that’s true financial freedom.
Unfortunately, the conventional definition of financial freedom is that you can choose not to work whenever you like.
While this is certainly true for some people, it’s inaccessible for most people.
This again isn’t helpful.
It excludes most people and makes them give up or lose hope since it’s something they can’t ever imagine is possible for them.
Instead, I believe financial freedom can be accessible to anyone right now.
You can free yourself from financial stress, even as you’re working towards achieving your financial goals.
Here are 4 steps you can take right now to start feeling financially free.
4 Steps to Be Financially Free Without Making Tons of Money
1. Recognize the emotional, not just the rational side of money.
This is a mindset change and takes only seconds to do.
2. Uncover the dominant emotions money evokes in you
Simply notice any sensations in your body the next time you encounter a financial decision or situation, especially a stressful one. Where does this show up in your body? How does it feel?
3. Handle the emotions that money triggers
When I started, all I did was meditate and journal every day just to become aware of my thoughts, feelings, and any insights I got about my finances.
Later, I used the scientifically proven MAP method to retrain how I habitually think, feel, and behave around money.
4. Create an action plan that incorporates rational and emotional aspects
Everything you create is a result of where you focus your attention.
Are you focusing your attention on lack, scarcity, and anxiety?
Or are you creating an abundant mindset by gathering the proof and evidence of the financial life you desire?
It isn’t enough to simply use your rational mind to create your financial plan.
Incorporate the emotional aspects into your action plan as well.
Conclusion
Money is an emotional topic.
The sooner you recognize this, the sooner you can free yourself from financial anxiety.
Learn to handle how money makes you feel and what it makes you do.
When you can do this effectively, you can then make a plan that works for you calmly and clearly.
This kind of action plan incorporates the rational and emotional aspects and enables you to take courageous actions to achieve your financial goals with confidence and ease.
This is how you create the reality and life you want.
This is how you are 100% in control of creating your reality.
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Download my free Daily Holistic Financial Empowerment Checklist to learn how to handle your emotions about money with greater ease.