If you’ve avoided the topic of money in your life, there are compelling reasons to change your approach. Money is a reflection of ourself at both a superficial and deep level. It expresses who we are through our appearance and reveals our thoughts, behaviors, and choices on a daily basis. Even when we think we are avoiding finances, the situations it creates or halts are reflective points from which we can learn truths about ourself. It is, in fact, a powerful key to self growth.
Money — or prosperity, wealth, abundance — is a common barrier for many of us. And yet, money is a powerful tool waiting for us to infuse it with meaning. By itself, it’s meaningless — air, paper, metal. Joined with intention, it has the potential to change the world.
How we feel and think about ourselves and our place in the world is reflected through how we handle our money. For many people, it can be either the last or the largest barrier in overcoming internal areas of resistance and to self-growth. Therefore, working through the mindset and the practical components of it can free us much more than we might anticipate when we examine our money issues. It is often a key element to fully aligning with a life of purpose.
Money answers don’t necessarily come easily or automatically even when we are in alignment with our life. By staying within our values and integrity, we can unravel our attitudes, uncover our resistance and blocks, and choose potent action determined by our life purpose, mission and vision.
The keys of self growth that money reveals
1. It uncovers our life lessons
Patterns are revealed over time. Once we separate them and consider both the similarities between them and the idiosyncrasies, we begin to see and understand where we make repetitive choices. Those repeating themes can help us learn how to move forward by learning what it is they are here to teach us.
2. It asks us to clarify our values
Money is a representation of valuation. Our core values represent what we consider our most important life principles. Deepest of all is how we value our self — what we will spend money on and how in order to further ourself and our objectives.
3. It invites us to understand, acknowledge, and release self-limiting beliefs and limits
When we examine how we self-sabotage, we begin to see our fears. We can see how our attitudes, beliefs, and emotions contribute to our behaviors towards money — and how we might hold ourself back.
Once we understand and acknowledge those, we can clear resistance to prosperity — seeing our belief was the limit. From there we have the opportunity to encourage new potential and foster growth.
4. It requires us to be accountable
It takes action for results and growth. We need to act on our conviction for lasting results. It isn’t sufficient to understand where we hold ourself back but not take action.
For example, determining we are going to cultivate our education, devoting extra monthly income to an allocated savings fund for it — and then spending our surplus monthly revenue on restaurant meals and movies shows we are out of alignment. Getting to our end result requires we be accountable to the action that will lead us there.
5. It reinforces our need for personal boundaries
Money can be used to express our values and demonstrate deliberate choices. When we apply it in that way, it requires us to say “no” to other options that don’t fit our value criteria. We will be faced with situations in which we need to set boundaries with ourself and others in order to achieve what we say we want.
6. It suggests we grow through connection and community
Although we’ve all heard tales of people who hoard, prosperity isn’t grown by isolating ourselves and shutting down. We experience the richness of life by sharing our life mission. Abundance is experienced through connection and community. And being with people who support your intentions fosters your growth.
7. It is the ultimate tool to self-love (and requires forgiveness)
The full empowerment of self is deepened when we have the ability to completely accept — and honor — ourself. That doesn’t mean we always get everything right.
It means that when we don’t, we have the ability to forgive ourself, learn from our action, and move on. It is a way we can honor the divinity that is within each of us.
The choice is ours
As with any other key to self development, the choice is ours to make. Growth doesn’t happen without our willingness to examine situations, inquire within, and consider the knowledge that occurs.
With money as a tool, we have the ability to express our preferences and live our purpose, mission, and enact our vision. It can help us connect with others, expand our world, and be an instrument for world change. The choice is ours to make.
Additional resources on this topic are provided here under “Life Resources and Links: Prosperity, Abundance, and Money”. If you would like support on your path to growth and prosperity, please consider my Life Balance Coaching services.
Jan, your article offers a perspective on money that isnt discussed from a self-growth perspective, thank you, for that.
Thanks for reading and commenting, JoAnne. I find money is one of those interesting areas that reflects layers of our life. When we attend to money, we often see that we are also paying attention to other areas of growth — such as self-care, home environment, and our physical body.