Is Your Money Mindset Limiting Your Impact (and earnings)? 15 Ways to Expand It
Your teachings and services are so valuable to the world, kind soul. But are you able to see that value for yourself? Can you be present with the natural cycle of giving and receiving that transpires as you share your gifts of time and knowledge?
The more you see the value in your power to transform lives, the more others will see it and the more attracted they will feel to working with you.
In any service-related business, it's important to examine your mindset around money and the idea of value. Money naturally stirs up emotion. Many of our most fundamental money beliefs lay beneath the surface of our conscious mind, permeating through every action we take. Our neural pathways around the concept of money have been solidified through the influence of society over time - and it's time we examine them.
Sharing Your Value Without Aversion to Receiving
Mindfulness can help us notice our money mindsets. By examining our beliefs in a curious, non-judgmental manner, we can shed a light on those that hold us back. As we become aware of our limiting money beliefs, we can respond from a mindset of abundance rather than one of fear. We can allow the natural flow of abundance into our lives without aversion or attachment.
Many spiritual traditions warn of attachment to material things, including the idea of money. Yet those of us who consider ourselves to be helpers, healers, and teachers have the opposite problem. We may unconsciously feel an aversion to the idea of receiving money for sharing our gifts.
Here are some ideas to explore as you think about shifting to a more holistic mindset about money. Allow yourself to to pay attention to feelings that arise as you read through these – with curiosity, kindness, and acceptance. Notice the discomfort you may feel as you think about this topic. Then decide how you can respond differently next time those feelings come up.
15 Ways to Expand Your Money Mindset
1) Money is just energy - your idea about it gives it an emotional charge
Before paper currency became the means of exchanging goods and services, we used to barter. A cobbler would help repair the farmer’s shoes in exchange for a supply of potatoes and corn for a few days. Did the cobbler feel bad for accepting the potatoes in exchange for the work he did for the farmer? Probably not.
So why do we still feel bad for accepting “paper potatoes” in exchange for providing guidance and wisdom that could help improve the quality of others’ lives?
Money is just as much a form of energy as the potatoes are. It's the way that we perceive it that ultimately affects our personal experience of it.
2) Limiting money beliefs permeate many cultures
Society has built up a lot of ideas around money. Unless we examine them, many of them hold us back from feeling abundant. People get so stuck worrying about their future that they don't use the present moment to actually create this future in line with their vision.
When someone invests in themselves through using your services, you are helping them create a brighter future that will then positively impact the lives of many others!
Two of the most common beliefs about money in modern-day society include "Money doesn't grow on trees" or "Money is the root of all evil." The underlying idea here is that everything is a zero-sum game. If one person has something, there's less for others. In reality, there are more than enough resources for all. When someone exchanges their money for your services, they are not losing anything. They are actually investing in their future growth and present-moment peace. This money is thus spent to advance the good of themselves and others! So there is no need to feel bad about charging money for your services!
3) Money is a tool that can be used to transform the world
A knife is a tool. It can be used to cut tomatoes or to hurt someone. Money can be used for good or bad purposes as well. What matters is the intention of the person using the tool. Those of us who are compassionate and already have an inclination to help others are not going to use it to cause harm. I think we so often forget this.
Kind and compassionate people use their money in kind and compassionate ways. This includes enjoying it and also using it for purposes that will help others.
Helping others shouldn't just be limited to the idea of non-profits or charity. It also includes reinvesting our money into our business or into furthering our own education so that we can help even more people in the future.
4) Abundance is knowing that life always supports all of us
Ultimately, abundance doesn’t have as much to do with money as it does with our ability to enjoy the wealth of life around us as it is - in this very moment. Wealth is the understanding that we are the creator of our own experience of abundance. We can conjure up the feelings of being abundant by sharing our talents and wisdom with others.
As we create and share our value with others, it is only natural that we will receive value in exchange.
The more we learn to value the inner qualities of our being and the simple joys in life, the more we relax into the feeling of presence. The more present we become, the more our creative abilities flow through us so we can provide even more value.
5) Underneath it all is a desire to help all of life advance and grow
Whatever form your business takes, you know that you aren’t ultimately doing it for the money anyway. You are doing it because something within you recognizes the deep connection we all share. You are doing it because you want to help others.
Business is an expression of life's natural desire to help life know its own grandeur.
Businesses are not separate from the people who start them. Rather they are an underlying expression of who those people are. And money is the byproduct of that authentic self-expression - if we are open to receiving it.
6) Money allows you to vote for what you value most
When you feel comfortable with the amount of money you have, you freely circulate it to the people and causes you value most. Every business in the world is ran by people who ultimately support other businesses and other people. It’s all one big cycle of humanity buying from humanity to then give back to humanity.
Money is the means through which we can personally decide which people and ideas we most want to help promote and grow.
Take the idea of supporting a local farmer. You could either buy tomatoes directly from him at a slight premium or from the big chain store next door for a few cents less. Neither decision is wrong. Yet feeling comfortable with your financial position allows you to vote for the one that most resonates with you.
7) Resistance to money causes unnecessary stress
The more aversion or negative feelings there are within us around any subject, the less space there is within us to be in this present moment. Mental resistance sparks the fight-or-flight response that creates stress.
The attitude of resisting, rejecting, or judging something takes us out of the true, unclouded experience of reality as it is right now.
The more you learn to recognize your mental patterns surrounding money, the more you cultivate awareness and attention. This can then be applied to any other potentially limiting mental patterns.
8) Using your money to advance your purpose and mission
The more you allow money to flow into your life, the more you can advance your personal mission – whether it’s through your business or a non-profit organization. When your basic needs are taken care of, you can dedicate more of your time to doing more of what pulls your heart strings.
A healthy money mindset means that instead of focusing on how to provide for your comfort, you can focus on investing in yourself to share your gifts with people in new ways.
Think about the investment you made to get your mindfulness teacher certifications. You valued the idea of exchanging your money for knowledge. You desired the ability to serve the world with that gained knowledge. You invested in yourself so you could then help others. If you didn’t value the idea of helping others through mindfulness, you wouldn’t have spent your money on it. This in itself reveals so much about what a beautifully kind and compassionate human being you are!
9) Your self-image and your money beliefs are closely tied
When you step back and look at your money beliefs without judgement, you may recognize that they are ultimately tied to your own self-image.
As you use the light of awareness to accept yourself as you are, it becomes easier to see yourself just as deserving of the goodness of life as everyone else.
When you apply self-compassion to the topic of finance, you recognize that all sentient beings have a right to feel their own worth - including you. Our ability to receive money is a direct reflection of how open we are to accepting our own worth.
10) Your money allows others to express their value
When you recognize that others are excited about sharing their value through the products and services they offer, you can see them through the eyes of compassion. They have gifts that they long to share – whether in the form of ideas, talents, knowledge or physical products. When you have a need that their gift fulfills, you are allowing them to fully express their talents.
In this way, every time you vote with the energy of your money, you allow another soul to know that the investment of their time or act of service makes a difference.
11) Advancing your mission - with the help of others
Feeling comfortable about receiving money allows you to hire those who have the expertise that you do not – or who enjoy doing what you don’t. This allows you to make an even greater impact.
Money allows you to leverage the skills of others so you can focus on what you do best.
Yes, you could spend hours trying to file your own taxes – or you could simply hire an accountant and use your time to focus on helping your clients. Ultimately, you will probably still end up having more money because you will be earning money even while you outsource certain tasks.
12) You’re not spending, you’re circulating
Any time you buy a product or a service, don’t think of it as spending. Spending has a negative connotation. It makes you feel like you’re losing something.
What’s really happening when you give or receive money is the circulation of energy. If everything is part of one interconnected fabric, there is no real loss or gain to the basic oneness we share.
Michael Beckwith describes this concept of circulation beautifully. He says it is a complete cycle of giving and receiving. Nothing is ever depleted by our circulation of it. If we can develop enough feelings of worthiness to know that it’s ok to have our personal needs met, we will be much more open to both ends of that cycle – the giving AND the receiving.
13) Grateful to give, grateful to receive
The only reason you buy anything is because you believe it will benefit you in some way. So when you decide to make any purchase, focus on the feeling of appreciation for the product or service you are receiving.
Ken Honda, author of “Happy Money: The Japanese Art of Making Peace With Your Money” shares the “Arigato in, Arigato out” mantra. It is simply a way of feeling gratitude and appreciation for money when we receive it and when we give it.
It’s the energy behind any act that ultimately determines its affect on our consciousness and thus our personal experience of reality. In this way, we are creating a positive experience for ourselves regardless of the money situation we are dealing with.
14) Happy You, Happy Family, Happy Community
When your business is thriving, it allows you to spend more time doing what you love most. A big part of that may be exactly what you’re doing to earn your living. It also includes enjoying the abundance that life has to offer through the gifts that you call your family and friends.
As more money flows into your life, you can circulate it in ways that brings joy to you, your loved ones, and the communities you care about.
Perhaps your heart feels stirred to help those who wouldn’t be able to afford your services otherwise. In that case, recognize that there are many people who can afford your services and are more than happy to pay for them. Balance your time in a way that you can help both - those who can afford your services now and those who aren't in that position yet.
15) The more you let others know about your services, the more you can help
You know that sharing your wisdom can transform others' lives. But do they know that? Sometimes we have to get comfortable with the discomfort of making ourselves known so that we can help those who normally wouldn't find us.
That's what mindful marketing is all about: knowing that there are others out there who could use our help and ensuring that our message is clear enough so they recognize the value we can bring into their lives.
So what feelings did you notice arising? Do you feel that your business is stagnating because of constricting money mindsets or limited marketing knowledge? Schedule a free initial consultation with me here and let me help you grow reach and impact today.