| It can feel hard to embrace something that doesn’t excite us very much, even though we might realize on some level that it needs our attention. Why is that? Because even though we know something might need our attention, if we’re not naturally drawn to it, it becomes a challenge to muster the motivation or desire to grow. As human beings, we tend to stay focused on what we know how to do well and what we consider ourselves good at. We often give greater focus to only those areas of our life where we know our confidence level is a solid, 8, 9 or 10. But before you ever got to be a 10 at whatever you excel in, weren’t you around a 2 or a 3 when you started? Remember for a moment what motivated you to embrace something in life you were drawn to or really wanted–maybe it was a career goal, a new hobby you were excited to start, a fitness challenge with a friend, or being a parent for the first time. What was your confidence level? It was likely a low number on the confidence scale. Nobody starts out with maximum confidence, but eventually with practice, dedication and commitment, you end up there. What’s your confidence level in your financial life? If your answer is an 8 or above, you can stop reading this now. But if it’s lower than an 8, do you know that you can find a way to embrace financial growth in the same way you did when you took that big leap forward to achieve your other dreams and goals? Here are three ways to embrace your financial growth: 1. Make Room for Curiosity: If we only decide to do those things that feel within our comfort zone, we leave no space for curiosity. When we can get curious about learning something new, it can temper the fears and discomfort that might arise when we take on a new endeavor. Forget about not understanding the details of your finances and the money mistakes you have made thus far. Replace any judgments and self-criticism with curiosity. Where could being curious take you? How would your life change if you practiced being curious? Could you get curious enough to find out? You get the point, be curious–be curious–be curious! Great things happen when we can step into something new with wonderment instead of trepidation and preconceived notions of failure. Plus curiosity gets you more focused on money solutions and problem-solving. 2. Pick your Emotion: Just like you did when you accepted a new promotion, career or when you became a parent for the first time and knew you wanted to be the best mommy ever, choose that same emotion–even if you have to trick your brain into feeling a certain way. This actually works. When I’m not so excited about something I know needs my attention, I tell myself that it’s going to be an exciting journey. Sometimes I even get up and do a few jumping jacks to get my energy moving or dance to an upbeat song that gets me into a different state of mind. Guess what? It creates the shift needed to feel more motivated and, you guessed it, excited about doing that thing you weren’t initially so crazy about. Before you sit down next time to take a closer look at your finances, pick a new emotion, one that gets your mojo going and brings you more in alignment with financial growth. 3. Accept Your Situation: I’ve heard many women talk about how ugly their money situation looks. I’m not talking about the women who talk about it and then do something about it, but the women who talk about it and then talk about it some more. What they don’t realize is just how limiting and imprisoning those words are to their financial growth. It’s hard to grow or feel like you want to make change when you’re speaking out loud or have a constant tape in your head telling you what a mess you have made of your finances. Talking about your past money mistakes will keep you in the house of pain and bring on feelings of shame and guilt. It will also stagnate your financial growth. When you can see the truth of your financial situation, for exactly what it is, and sit with it (that’s the hardest part), you’ll then be ready to embrace financial growth. And this is where big change happens! There is great freedom in acceptance. Acceptance gives us an opportunity to see what’s real and find the courage to walk through a different door and create a new financial reality. Practice these three ways of embracing your financial growth and notice how you grow! |
Finding Your Financial Potential
What does finding your financial potential look like? The definition of potential is defined as “latent qualities
