unpacking
money is energy
Questions to ask yourself:
Do you treat your money with respect?
Do you have a nice wallet? Do you throw your purse on the floor?
Do you throw wadded up money in your console or pocket?
Are your receipts organized?
Do you know how much debt you’re in?
Are you responsible with your bills?
Are you making investments with your money?
Do you have confidence that you can really take care of/manage your money?
Do you think money is stupid/corrupt/annoying?
When you think about money how do you feel inside your body?
what is your money story?
Questions to ask yourself:
Do you believe you have to work really hard to make money?
Do you believe money is evil? Or have any negative feelings around money? Do you want to have money?
What are the typical conversations you have around money?
What are the quality of your thoughts around money?
Do you feel abundant or in lack?
Do you feel blocked? Like there is some obstacle to money?
Do you take responsibility for your money situation? Do you feel trapped/stuck/a victim?
Do you believe you can earn a prosperous living doing what you love?
Do you take pride in your frugality? In being a starving artist?
How does money serve you?
Do you feel stress around money?
Do you judge wealthy people?
Do you have gratitude for what you have or are you always feeling like it’s not enough?
Do you earn less than you are worth?
Do you give away your services or time without being able to take care of yourself?
What money story do you come from?
What is your money story that you tell?
What other stories do you have around money?
How has your money story served you? If you’re in lack or scarcity, what is the payoff?
How might negative money stories relate to your relationship to your own inner currency?
The roots
Once you’ve contemplated the questions above see if there is anywhere you can go deeper.
What habit, pattern, belief, emotion, default setting is underlying?
Eg; You’ve been earning less than you're worth. Start by journaling I earn less than I am worth. Why am I allowing myself to earn less than I’m worth? And keep asking yourself why until you feel you’ve distilled it to the smallest little seed it began from.
In his book, Emotional Freedom Technique, Nick Ortner speaks about how to identify your targets in terms of a tree. The leaves are the symptoms/side effects; the branches are the emotions; the trunk is the events and the roots are the limiting beliefs. This can be helpful in breaking down and getting to the central issue. It may also work to just dive into the symptom but in free writing you can find more clarity. See below.
THE TREE
Symptoms: addiction, ptsd, self sabotage, pain, tension, illness, clutter, procrastination, feeling stuck, lack/scarcity, etc..
Emotions: shame, guilt, remorse, rejection, anger, resentment, frustration, sadness, depression, powerlessness, fear, anxiety, stress, numbness, etc..
Events: detached parents, the money story your parents carried, someone stole money from you/used you for money, bullying, trauma (big and micro), betrayal, abuse, discipline, criticism, family fighting over money, violent communication around money, physical violence, feeling unsupported, feeling unloved, etc..
Limiting Beliefs: I can’t do anything right, I’m not safe, I’m not okay, This always happens, I attract this, I’ll always be stuck, I don’t deserve xyz, I’m different, I’m not worthy, I don’t believe in myself, I’m not lovable, I’m not good enough, I don’t have value to offer, I’m an imposter, etc..