This blog is all about emotions around money, and one thing is for sure: each of us has different emotions about it.
I have some friends, for example, who look at money in a completely different way than me.
I spent the first 15-20 years of adulthood defining my self worth by how much money I had or was earning. I had this perception that I would only be worthy of appreciation by my peers and family if I had plenty of money.
If something happened that caused me to lose money, I would go into a rage because it felt like my own self worth was at stake. And for the same reasons, I was incredibly focused and aggressive about looking for ways to make more money.
I'm much different at this point and I now realize at a core level that my self worth has nothing to do with money, but that old part of me still exists and it shows up every once in a while. I have to use awareness to re-ground myself when it makes an appearance.
Compare the way I felt about money to a close friend of mine. During a recent conversation he told me that he needed to finally deal with his 401k "stuff". He said he had a box of paperwork from all the 401k stuff he ever got, and that it was finally time to figure out what was going on in there.
He was dreading it. The thought of dealing with money was like a burden to him. He told me it felt like this obligation that he should be taking care of and that he felt guilt about not already being on top of it.
I, on the other hand, had the exact opposite initial emotional response when I heard him tell me this. I had excitedness -- what was in that box?! How much money did have sitting in these 401k accounts that he hadn't been checking on!
I literally wanted to count it up myself haha! (That might admittedly be as much about me loving numbers as it is about money though...)
Safe to say, the way he feels when his account balance goes down is much different than how I feel.
I have another friend who is different still. He knows all his account balances in detail, but he doesn't feel motivated by money.
He grew up in Europe and he said this thirst for money often seems like an American thing. He said where he grew up, working is just something everyone did, and it didn't really matter how much money you had.
So when I talk to him about my stock market research for example, he feels no excitement about what the research results could mean for his account balance. He finds the research itself interesting, but he doesn't have any desire to try to make money from it.
We're all different!
What does it mean that we're each different? It means that I can't tell you how you feel. Only you get to say how you feel.
It also means that if you feel strong emotions around money and you want to change how you respond to those emotions, then I can't be the one to do it for you. That task falls to you since those emotions are only within you. That's your journey to take.
I hope that this blog in some way helps you find your footing on that personal journey. No matter what your feelings around money are, I support you!
If you have any questions or feedback, I'd love to hear from you.
