7-Point Plan To Make Money Your Friend: #2

by Clyo Beck

This is the 2nd of 7 posts on how to change your relationship with money.

As indicated in post #1, when having money troubles, you must recognize that those problems are the result of your embedded attitudes and beliefs about money, many of which are likely to be subconscious. The good news is that, once you realize you have them, you can take the next step.

2) HEAL NEGATIVE IDEAS ABOUT MONEY

Money problems are always the result of one of more of these types of fears:

Fear of the responsibility. (What would I do with more? How much do I have to give away to feel good? What if I don’t want to give any away? What if I’m really selfish and don’t know it? What if I mishandle it? What If I lose it? People will say I wasted it.)

Fear of so many people asking us for money that we go broke. (Oh no! All my relatives will come knocking on my door for a handout. What will I do? I’ll have to give them money or they will think badly of me. Oh, no! Strangers will approach me for help with all their money problems. I’ll be overwhelmed. )

Fear of tax problems. (Oh, no! I’d have to pay more taxes. Will I have enough? What if I am audited? Oh no! I might need an accountant or – gasp – a lawyer. Oh, no! What if I wind up in jail for tax evasion?)

Fear of jealousy and victimization. (Oh no! What if someone kidnaps my child and demands a randsom? What if my spouse is only staying for lack of money to leave?)

Often, before we can ever imagine the feelings of freedom and peace of mind that having a million dollars would bring, our fears whisk it away with one imaginary horror after another until we’re into negative cash flow!

When we have these fears, they must be healed because every one of them is telling God: I don’t want money – take it away! To further complicate matters, these fears are usually subconscious. You may not even be aware you have some of them. So what do you do? How can you heal your ideas about money?

JOB #1: LOVE YOURSELF BETTER

When we do not love and trust ourselves, we fear the choices money gives us. (If I had money I might leave my husband and children, and our friends would think I’m a monster. If I had money I’d have a nose job and people would realize I’m vain.)

Although loving yourself may sound simplistic, unrealistic or pollyanna-ish to someone who has not yet begun to experience the power of this approach, when you love yourself – truly love yourself – and trust that good resides in you because God resides in you, then your problems begin to fall away. The love within you for you heals them.

JOB #2: STOP THINKING $$=JERK

Because we have seen examples of people with great wealth being jerks, we fear that money will make us into jerks. (I’ll get lazy; I’ll drink too much; I’ll be snobbish. I’ll show off.)

Worse, we may fear that people will assume we are jerks, even when we aren’t, and treat us with distain, ridicule or even cruelty. (Look how people detest Michael Jackson and other rich people who fall out of favor.)

Lastly, we may fear completely losing contact with God and getting out of control due to money’s privileges. (What if I become like that insane John Eleuthere du Pont who felt so privileged that he thought he had the right to kill his neighbor?)

Now, you and I both know a person can be poor and still be isolated, detested, selfish, crazy, unable to make good decisions, self-destructive, hostile, violent and totally cut off from God.

Poor people can do very bad things. Being poor does not make you holy.

Likewise, rich people can do wonderful things. Being rich does not make you bad.

That’s because money is not the cause of these things.

In fact, some argue that poverty is the real root of evil since poverty causes such misery and backwardness, and that it is fear of poverty that causes hoarding, grabs for power, callousness and other weirdness.

Despite the fact that money can be used for evil deeds, money itself is neutral and not the root of evil. So, if you have these types of fears about having money, get rid of them. Here’s how.

And, despite the fact that we are all capable of lesser deeds, when we focus on the love within us, we will become capable of greater and more loving deeds than we ever imagined.

Next post: Forgive the rich for being rich.

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