Money. Mindset. Spirituality.

I’ve been surrounded lately with conversations regarding money so I thought I’d take a minute and share my thoughts. Any time a subject matter gets repeated a few times, that’s my cue to write.

Money. Money. Money. I know the experts say that people think about sex a crazy percentage of their day but I’ll bet my favorite crystal that we think about money way more. 

I grew up not having any. The constant reminder about its insufficiency from month to month was a mainstay while growing up. When I left home, I continued to struggle because it was all I had ever known. This may sound silly, but it never dawned on me that I didn’t actually have to struggle. Even after acquiring a college degree, and then a graduate degree, I didn’t know my own worth, financially speaking.

The thing is, it never really bothered me. Because I had no idea what it was like not to struggle, I was happy as could be if I could eat and pay my bills in the same month. It wasn’t until I opened my own business that I realized there was a different way to live. Money started rolling in and as the years went on, the money did the weirdest thing: it kept growing. All of a sudden, there was no reason to worry anymore. I was, for the first time in my life, financially secure. 

The weird thing was, I never worried more in my life. I was never concerned with money until I had plenty of it. All of a sudden, there was never enough and I needed to make more and more and more. It had nothing to do with supporting an expensive lifestyle. I have always lived below my means, and have money socked away for a rainy day, but all I could think about was all of the financial security that I believed I didn't have yet. I became obsessed with work and money. Interestingly, the biggest financial year the business had was also the most expensive. Once the numbers were laid out, it showed that the business had actually made just as much as the year before, after all of the expenses. All the extra work I’d done, which was considerable, was all for nothing.

It dawned on me at some point that I was living life with a scarcity mindset, rather than an abundance mindset. After some big changes in my life, my way of life transformed significantly and so did my attitude about needs vs. wants. I knew I had to redefine what financial security meant to me and this time I wanted to find balance. I had already lived from one extreme to the other; now I wanted to know what it felt like to live in the middle.

If you think the concept of money isn’t spiritual, you’d be wrong. Of course, that all depends on how you define spirituality. To me, it means living in balance with all of the available resources in the world with the intention of generosity, kindness, and service to others. This includes money. We seem to have two schools of thought when it comes to money: it’s the end-all-be-all and you need to do whatever it is you need to do to get more of it, or it’s evil and you should be ashamed of yourself for wanting it. 

I don’t ascribe to either and so let me introduce you to a third option: abundance, wealth, and security are your birthright. It’s yours for the taking but a shift in your mindset might be necessary. As I’ve mentioned, balance is the key. If you approach money with a scarcity mindset, it grips your finances tightly, strangling them, and will often cause them to become stagnant, thereby prohibiting growth. If you approach money with an abundance mindset, you allow it to flow in and out, knowing that what you need will be provided. This allows your money to breathe and move, which allows it to grow. Does that mean you should spend your rent money on a pair of Louboutins? Sorry, no. Responsible living is still a requirement. However, engaging in a practice that calls in what you need, and even more, isn’t a bad idea. 

My definition of abundance shifted when I shifted my life. I live a much smaller life now and I adore it. That was what I needed for me, and that shift has allowed me to worry less and enjoy life more. Before, I was consumed with “more” and that led to me actually having less of what actually makes me happy. And you know what? My bank account isn’t complaining one bit. It’s doing just fine and, honestly, better than ever. That’s because I know that what I need will always find its way to me. This doesn’t mean I won’t shift back into high gear at some point, but I now understand how to make that feel good for myself. That’s worth more than any amount of money in this world.

Everything happens as it is supposed to happen and at precisely the right time. Trust in that and you’re ahead of the rest, my friend.