Money is everything because we spend our entire lives looking for more and more of these wonderful coins and pieces of paper. We all want more and more money and we seek the freedom and options that having money offers.
I found a very interesting and informative article on how to explore your relationship with money detailing how we think about money and how to evaluate our relationship with money is a prelude to (and I quote) first step to make personal and global transformations.
One of the cool things I learned from this article is the indulgence of money as an alternative to the expression of love. We all buy cards, flowers, and gifts for those who mean something to us. We do this exclusively for our loved ones, therefore our spending money is an expression of sentiment and acceptance. If you do not completely agree with this idea, consider how many times you have bought something from an enemy.
Everything costs money. People are driven by an insatiable demand for more. I will discuss and specifically explore whether or not we have the right attitude towards money in later articles, but there is little doubt that some people base their entire existence on the pursuit and retention of money and wealth. Think of people like Richard Branson and others known for their wealth. The way they behave and the confidence they have are based on their success and wealth.
My relationship with money is different from other people I know. I’m the type of person who sees money as collateral. I enjoy the feeling of success from having won it and I enjoy the feeling of security knowing that I can pay for things should I need them. I am not a big spender although that is because I am careful with what I have. If someone passed £ 100,000 to me, it would be easy for me to spend some of it! The more I have, the more secure I feel and that prompts me to save more and spend less. This attitude is shaped by past experiences and the fact that I have learned what happens and how it feels when you have nothing. Those who have not experienced this will freely spend in the (perhaps wrong) belief that money will continue to flow to them as it always has before. Rich kids are the prime example of this kind of behavior. Try telling an 18-year-old that a credit card is not good. Until they experience month after month after month of paying a bill, the lesson cannot be taught, it must be lived.
I often imagine what it would be like to not be struggling to earn money either through work or this second business, to live in a remote place in a self-sufficient home and to focus only on living. What would the interests be? What would we do as a family all day? As in a life with plenty of money, the moment you got a lot out of it, you would suddenly lose the feeling that it matters. The paradox of money is that it loses importance the more you have.
The secret to making sure your relationship with money is healthy is to focus on the other areas of your life that are important and to keep a good balance. Money is important, but relationships, health, fitness, and other things are important too. Lynne Twist sums it up perfectly when she says “When our monetary life is aligned with our heart and soul, that is financial well-being, that is prosperity.” While you must be focused, there is a line that you must not cross and that you are completely obsessed with. I believe that you have to be happy with moderate money to hope that you will be really happy with abundant wealth.
