Conscious Go Getter: Surviving the Struggle
5 Financial Wellness Tips for the Conscious Go Getter
There are many stressors that affect us when we are grinding and reaching for our dreams but financial stress can easily take the biggest toll. Our relationship with money is correlated with many emotional and psychological issues. So taking a conscious approach to evaluating what money truly evokes within us can help us gain freedom.
Having clear insight into your financial triggers and strengths will allow you to navigate any financial situation from a place of calm and effortlessness. Life happens, and especially when you are busy hustling to reach your dreams financial situations can change frequently. However if we have a conscious awareness of our financial behaviors and emotional reactions, only then can we set ourselves free from the chains of financial pressure and distress.
5 Tips for Financial Wellness for the Conscious Go Getter
ONE
Emotional Trigger: Fear
Conscious Tip: Trust
You have multiple hustles, don’t mind the grind, and your focus is on point. The only problem is many times on the journey to reaching our dreams there are moments when struggle and being broke just comes with the territory. Whether you are starting a new business, working and going to school, or raising children while grinding there are times when the struggle is real. This can bring about many feelings of anxiety, worry, and stress. These are all based on fear. Financial pressure can feel like a direct threat to our existence, and in an effort to protect us, our minds respond with a fight or flight response.
It is imperative to stay conscious when dealing with fear based emotions like anxiety and worry because the effects of stress (extreme amounts of the cell killing hormone cortisol) is a killer. When you find yourself in a financial valley reconnect with your relationship to trust. Your struggle in this moment is here to teach you something and help you grow. Trust in God, or at the very least trust in the divine orderly chaos of the universe, and know that your path is sacred. Also even in the hard times, you must find a way a to trust in yourself to figure out the situation. Let go of toxic worry by trusting in the fact that you made it this far. No situation, not even financial, can stop your hustle. You have infinite light inside you, trust it and don’t let anxiety get the best of you. (For more tips on dealing with anxiety read my Conscious Self-Care Blog here)
TWO
Emotional Trigger: Desperation
Conscious Tip: Gratitude and Flow
Beyond fear, financial situations can make us feel like we are choking, desperate for air. This proverbial air could be desperation for your next paycheck, desperation to pay your bills, or in some of the worst cases desperation to get your next meal. It’s separate from fear, in that it is a feeling of grasping for something that is so close and so desperately needed. When we feel desperate our foundation is weak and instability seems to be a way of life.
The best way to confront this feeling of desperation is gratitude and flow. Gratitude, nature’s anti-depressant, can give you air when you are choking. Focusing on what you have instead of what you desperate for will instantly combat these feelings. Also, if you are creative like most go-getters are, use moments of deprivation to creatively go with the flow. This is how we have evolved as humans, by making something out of nothing. Release yourself from the chokehold of financial pressure, go within and focus on what you already have and find a way to organically create what you don’t. This is separate from frantically searching for ways to pay bills, this is a method of flowing with the grain of life. Use the abundance that you already have as motivation to continue down your divine path.
THREE
Emotional Trigger: Impulsivity
Conscious Tip: Stay Grounded
You just got paid, and even though you have bills to pay you decide to reward yourself by buying something small at the mall. The next thing you know you are at Sephora handing over your debit card to pay the $200 bill. Although you are elated about that new NARS shimmer highlight you just bought, you’re left thinking “What just happened?” That is called impulsivity my dear Goddess. And it is a direct result of our brain’s desire for reward, joy, and fun. If not consciously managed, our brains desire to get it’s dopamine (the reward neurotransmitter in the brain) fix can ruin many financial efforts.
The key to regulating this impulsivity is staying conscious of what is truly going to bring you joy. Staying grounded in the big picture will help your brain focus more on being rewarded with your trip to Bali when you make your sales goal, instead of quick fixes like NARS (can you tell I love NARS?). One way to stay grounded is to have a clear budget. Using apps like MINT may be helpful to keep your financial priorities clear. Another great thing to do is to put up pictures of long-term goals, like launching your new business or dream travel plans, so that you have a constant reminder of what will truly bring you joy. Also Here is a helpful blog for tips to stay grounded for financial wellness!
FOUR
Emotional Trigger: Family Issues
Conscious Tip: Break Chains
Our relationship with money is directly tied to how we were raised to think about and react to financial situations. If you grew up in a family struggling with poverty, your relationship with money may be laced with with feelings of deprivation or even trauma. If you grew up with an abundance of money, you may find yourself confused by your own financial challenges. Did your parents talk to you about money? Was it a constant problem in your household? Also family issues arise around money when we are in a financial crisis because we may seek support from family members. If we rely too much on this support it can affect our sense of autonomy and independence. If our family is unable to help use it may bring about feelings of resentment or jealousy of those that have financial support from their family.
The key to processing these arising feelings related to family and money is to break any dysfunctional chains that may be holding you back from owning your own financial situation. Make a conscious effort to define your own relationship with money by evaluating how you were raised to think about money and then taking ownership of how you want to change any toxic patterns. Being responsible for your own financial situation may require educating yourself about budgeting, credit building, or investing. Taking a self-reliant approach doesn’t mean you can’t ask for help from family. This conscious approach simply means staying aware of the messages you received about money from your family and upbringing and using that knowledge to better your current financial situation.
FIVE
Emotional Trigger: Self-Esteem
Conscious Tip: Inner Light
Most go-getters have had to make financial sacrifices to reach their goals. This means when everyone else is at the Beyonce concert or getting their nails done, you may be investing in marketing or your new product. You can easily go into feeling bad about yourself when you don’t have money to get your hair done or go out to happy hour with friends.
As I have stated above, during financial hardships it is important to remember your higher purpose. But even beyond your destined calling, keep in mind your Higher Self. You are more than gel nails and material things. We all know that money and things don’t define us, but when you are strapped for cash it can be easy to forget. You are Divine. All divinity lives within you and that is nothing to scoff at. If you are going through a difficult time with money now, I leave you with the affirmation that you are more than this situation and your breakthrough has already happened. It is right inside of you. Keep your head up, shine your inner light, and paint your own nails if need be! Stay connected to what’s real and your hustle will not be in vain.
Let me know how you maintain financial wellness in the comments below!
– Tiffany Shelton, M.A. is a psychotherapist and consciousness expert. Her passion to elevate consciousness goes beyond the message of self-care or wellness, but instead consciously adds to these movements by demanding awakening and insight. Learn more about Tiffany Shelton by clicking here.
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