What is your relationship
with money?

Comfortable and accepting?  Fearful and resisting?

If you are having a negative reaction to this concept,  you are probably fearful and resisting of having enough money.

If you want (or think you want) more money and have tried, but have never been able, to attract enough wealth then you are probably resisting it in some way.

Resistance to appreciating and accepting abundance takes many paths.

Unfortunately resistance to abundance can settle into a mindset and way of life.  Fortunately, these paths can be redirected to bring a new comfort level with your relationship with money.

What is your Money IQ (Inner Quest) Relationship?  And how can you redirect this IQ from resistance to attraction?

Here are your 5 Money IQ Clues (write these and your responses out – you want to shift these fearful embodied mindsets and feelings to ones that embrace abundance). You will see that each has action steps. Just as an Outer Quest requires action in order to move closer to a destination, so does an Inner Quest. There is the action step to write out clues and your responses, and an additional action step to shift your mindset (and way of life) from abundance resistance to abundance acceptance. And…a bonus action step after Clue #5.

Clue #1:  What did you learn about money from your parents? That set the stage for your own IQ. It isn’t the amount of money they had, but how they felt about, and used, what they had. What about your parent’s relationship with money doesn’t work for you now? What can you do to change that way of thinking (one small shift is all it takes)?

Clue #2: Do you think all people with lots of money are bad, unhappy, untrustworthy, greed etc.? This may relate to Clue #1 or it may have settled into your bones from relationships later (from peers, teachers, religious mentors). What about this idea that money leads to unhappiness and greed doesn’t work for you now? List people you view as content and happy, who are also comfortable with money (they do not need to be rich, just don’t seem to worry about their financial status). What is a quality they possess that you will begin to cultivate?

Clue #3: Do you believe your friends and family will treat you differently if you have more money than they do? Do you downplay good changes in your life with some friends and family? Is this protective, not wanting them to feel badly for not having what you do? Is this protective of yourself because you have some shame around having more than others? To paraphrase a famous quote – you do not help others by hiding your own light or good fortune. You help yourself and others by being happy for yourself or them when good things happen. How will you share in your good fortune? How will you know, in your body, when you are minimizing your good fortune, and what can you do to appreciate and accept your good fortune? Action step: share something with someone else (cook a meal, drive someone to a MD appointment, volunteer your time…).

Clue #4: Have you been disappointed in the past when you have tried visualizing abundance or good fortune? When you have tried to attract abundance in the past have your been specific about your intention? Have you paid attention to the small ways that universe may be answering your request, or have you waited for abundance to materialize all at once? When you ask for more money, be sure to acknowledge every bit that comes your way – finding pennies on the street, the $2.00 winnings on a scratch ticket, a free movie pass, the extra cash in your pocket, a raise (big or small). This will begin to shift your Money IQ to acceptance and appreciation of all that you receive. Write out specifically what a happy relationship with money would feel like to you. It is this quality you are seeking, not the end number. What would be different in your life if you appreciated your money situation, your Money IQ?  Write that out.  Now for an action step,  is there some unappreciated or unacknowledged money you have right now (check coat pockets , backpacks and purses; turn in those jars of coins, what about taking clothes you don’t wear to a consignment shop). Do this step joyfully.  

Clue #5: Do you, be honest, believe that you deserve or will ever have a healthy relationship with money? Again, this is less about the amount of money you have but how you feel about what you deserve. This is not about being selfish or spiritually disconnected. It is healthy to connect our well-being (spiritual and otherwise) to feeling safe, comfortable, and at peace with our finances and financial status. We can better take care of ourselves and others (family, friends, community) when we are financially stable. On a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 being very much so) where do you rate yourself on deserving to have enough money for your own comfort and to help others? Action step, if you scored less than 10, what will you do this week to acknowledge that you deserve a healthy and abundance relationship with money (one healing step is to shift a habit that is taking money away in an unhealthy way and begin saving that money. Again, no matter how small – it might be deciding not to buy that candy bar, soda, coffee, wine, etc. or to buy it because you want to treat your new appreciative self.