Freaking about money

Yes, we know there is an economic crisis that is about to get better...someday. Yes, we feel lucky to have made it this far. Yes, we should feel grateful for all that we have in our lives. Yes, it’s good to think all these things and we feel good for having these thoughts. I am a good person.

But, I am totally freaking out! Whaaat? No, I didn’t say that! (At least not while anyone was around.)

Everyday I get emails or talk to clients that know they can attract what they want into their life and the flip side is they also know that they can attract what they don’t want into to their life, too. The statement about freaking out about money is common – all too common. Does that sound familiar to you? Trust me, you are definitely not alone.

The word is out. We have some semblance of control over our life and it starts with our inner world. But what happens when our inner world is having heart palpitations while making lunch, waking up at 3 o’clock in the morning in a sweat wondering where the next month’s income is coming from? Doesn’t this seriously mess up my Law of Attraction mojo?

Sad to say, but yes, yes it does seriously screw up your attraction mojo. Darn it, hey? So what does one do about it? How do we get our happenin’, attractin’ mojo back?

First, let’s define Law of Attraction mojo. Law of Attraction, if you haven’t heard, is the process of attracting into our life that which we focus on most of the time. Like energy attracts like energy and everything, including money and the intense feeling of spazzing out about it, is also made up of energy. Mojo, in this format, we’ll define as a type of personal magnetism. (I have great parking spot mojo!) We could actually use Law of Attraction (LOA) and mojo independently to describe the same sort of action – attraction.

So how does that gut-wrenching, all–encompassing excruciating feeling about not having enough money affect our circumstances and our ability to attract more money? Well, if you’ve had that feeling, you know it and you know it well enough that you never, ever want to have it again. It doesn’t feel good. The feeling is intense and there’s the kicker. When we have intense feelings, there is a lot of energy associated with those intense feelings and they are powerful. This is powerful enough energy to immobilize most people.

What happens when we’re immobilized? Let me give you a hint, most people make terrible decisions, if they make a decision at all, or worse, they don’t do anything at all. They stay stuck. They don’t perform well and the ability to see opportunities or make good decisions about money or anything else, disappears.

Do we like to work with or do business with these people? No. Do we like to hire these people? No.

It’s sad to say, but a fact, that desperation does not inspire confidence.

So what can we do when we’re wigging out about our finances? Here’s my Top 5 Tips:

1. Stop and breathe and come back to the present moment. You’re still alive the world has not literally fallen down around you. Nothing has profoundly changed from the moment prior, okay, maybe you got some lousy news but you are still breathing and as long as you are, you have options baby!

2. Quit the gloom and doom crap. Let’s do a Byron Katie for a moment. Is the dire misfortune you’re forecasting really true? Is there really no other way out? Are all options lost? Or, are you just playing out a really bad scene in your head because, well, that’s just what you do?

Don’t worry, your ability to creatively forecast the worst is just a bad habit and bad habits can be changed with a little information, a little technique and a little time. Also know that you are in extraordinarily good company – almost the entire population of the world does the same thing. (Alright, I don’t have stats on that but I would bet a lot that it’s true.)

3. Start imagining the best outcome you could possibly imagine. This starts to put you into a totally different frame of mind which can allow you to see possibility. When you can imagine it, you can start to create it. If you can’t do that, do #4.

4. Go do something fun. Distraction is a key component to living a great life. Of course, we have to be responsible and take action, but only when you’re in the right frame. Who hasn’t witnessed a bad action creating worse circumstances? We’ve all seen it…someone says something out of anger and it escalates into a situation far worse. Who needs that? Play is the answer!

5. Full circle – be grateful for something, anything! The feeling of gratitude is extremely powerful (why else would Oprah recommend that we have a Gratitude Journal?) and puts us into a feeling state that allows us to think, feel and believe that there is goodness in our life and that there can be more on it’s way. Powerful.

All our actions have no choice but to fall in line with what we think, feel and believe. What we think, feel and believe have their own energy. When we’re having positive, happy thoughts, feelings and beliefs, we act in a way that attracts more. Who wouldn’t want that?

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.