Three Steps to Financial Fitness: Are You Out of Shape or in The Zone?
By Helaine Iris
Your financial fitness is probably
the last thing you want to talk about --
yet, most likely the biggest thing
on your mind.
Whether you've got enough in your bank account or you're struggling to make ends
meet, becoming and staying financially fit is essential to feeling both peaceful,
powerful and self realized.
Notice - I didn't say "having money" was essential, I said being financially fit, in other
words, being empowered and living in integrity around your finances is what will
create the peaceful, yet powerful life you long for.
According to psychologist, Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs, you have to have
your basic needs for safety, food, shelter, financial security, and health and wellbeing
met before you can turn your attention to your higher pursuits such as: connection,
purpose, and self actualization. So, if you're constantly out of breath, panting and
struggling as you ascend the mountain toward financial security you are out of shape,
and not likely to succeed at meeting your higher needs. Here are three steps that will
help you cruise into the zone of financial fitness:
Step 1: Understand the Root of the Problem
Before you embark on a financial overhaul you need to discover and be honest with
yourself about your relationship to money. There are many reasons people are
dis-empowered about money and live their lives under the stressful weight of lack.
Your relationship to money starts with a belief, often a belief that may be transparent
to you handed down from the family you grew up in. Some common beliefs about
money are: money is the root of all evil, you cannot be spiritual and have money, and
money makes people compromise their values. Find out what you believe deep down
and allow yourself to be curious about the truth instead. Shedding light on your
limiting, source beliefs and replacing them truth is essential.
Denial is the other potent factor that will keep you asleep and not making financial
progress. Do you believe that if you REALLY look honestly at your finances, you
won't like what you see and be confronted with having to make a change you don't
want to make? If this is you, all I can tell you is your strategy is not working. Staying in
denial of reality, or flipping into magical thinking believing that the "law of attraction"
alone will create abundance, I'm sorry to say, won't get you anywhere.
You have to make it a priority to explore the negative beliefs you hold, and your lack
of honesty about reality in order to get to the root of your financial distress and turn it
into financial success. Then, you have to develop the courage to face where you are in
denial and take steps of corrective action.
Step 2: Become Financially Fluent
You have to build skills - practical skills that demonstrate your knowledge of how
money works. Although money is just another form of energy, it has simple rules
associated with it. For example, rule number one: you have to have more coming in
than going out. And, the only way to know this is to keep impeccable track of how
much you have and where it is going. As Suze Orman, the popular finance guru,
recommends, start by investigating what you spend on a monthly basis. This is where
your courage comes in -- most people are surprised by how much they spend. Or, you
might learn that you are spending beyond your means -- you don't have enough
coming in. The power of this investigation is that it offers you knowledge and then,
choice. Remember: knowledge is power.
Once you get a handle on the basics, you can then turn your attention to setting
specific goals that will help you achieve your vision of financial fitness. It's not enough
to say you want to be financially fit; you have to have tangible targets to reach for.
Define how much you want to make, how much savings is realistic, how much debt is
necessary, and what you want your retirement picture to look like in order to live free
of worry. Then, when it's time to make decisions about what you can and can not
afford, you decide based on facts, financial statements and whether the expense is
in alignment with your values and vision.
Finally, remember you don't have to do this alone. There are a lot of knowledgeable
experts in the field of financial management who can help you.
Step 3: Let it Flow and Leverage Everything
Once you've taken care of steps one and two which are practical in nature you are well
on your way to financial fitness. In order to stay there, and keep growing, you need to
adopt, commit to and practice ongoing perspective shifts that will maximize your
ability to enjoy your financial health as a lifestyle rather than a rote exercise you do
once.
If you truly understand that money is a form of energy, you will accept its natural flow
in and out of your possession. How you respond to that flow will determine how
stressed or relaxed you are. Finding your personal balance between appropriate
spending and saving, will allow you to enjoy your financial fitness giving you the
space to live your dreams and not be afraid. Financially fit people understand the
judicious use of credit and borrowing and can increase wealth with it. Financially fit
people take measured risks -- they know that risk is part of success. Finally financially
fit people are generous -- they use their creativity to design ways to serve others and
the world.
Learn to leverage everything -- time, money, resources and relationships. Set up
systems and technology to maximize your success, for example, do online banking
that can save you time. Arrange for any savings or tax liability to be automatically
deducted from your account. Don't rely on your own best intentions to save, make it a
non-option every month to pay yourself first.
Network; build your relationships so you can access support and resources easily.
And finally, educate yourself. Learning about money and how wealth grows is only
boring if you haven't looked at your original, dis-empowering beliefs. After all this is
about YOU and your choice to finally be free of financial stress so you can live and
fully enjoy the kind of life you say you want.
About the author: Helaine Iris is a Life and Business Coach, who has been featured in
numerous publications, including "O" The Oprah Magazine. She helps entrepreneurs
and professionals accelerate their success, while achieving a more complete and
fulfilling personal life. She combines a broad range of professional experience in her work,
including management positions in the education, training, retail and international non-profit
sectors. For a free consultation, contact her at 603-363.4252 to discuss how she can help you
accelerate your own success. You may also visit her website, Path of Purpose, for additional
information, or email your questions to helaine@pathofpurpose.com
By Helaine Iris
Your financial fitness is probably
the last thing you want to talk about --
yet, most likely the biggest thing
on your mind.
Whether you've got enough in your bank account or you're struggling to make ends
meet, becoming and staying financially fit is essential to feeling both peaceful,
powerful and self realized.
Notice - I didn't say "having money" was essential, I said being financially fit, in other
words, being empowered and living in integrity around your finances is what will
create the peaceful, yet powerful life you long for.
According to psychologist, Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs, you have to have
your basic needs for safety, food, shelter, financial security, and health and wellbeing
met before you can turn your attention to your higher pursuits such as: connection,
purpose, and self actualization. So, if you're constantly out of breath, panting and
struggling as you ascend the mountain toward financial security you are out of shape,
and not likely to succeed at meeting your higher needs. Here are three steps that will
help you cruise into the zone of financial fitness:
Step 1: Understand the Root of the Problem
Before you embark on a financial overhaul you need to discover and be honest with
yourself about your relationship to money. There are many reasons people are
dis-empowered about money and live their lives under the stressful weight of lack.
Your relationship to money starts with a belief, often a belief that may be transparent
to you handed down from the family you grew up in. Some common beliefs about
money are: money is the root of all evil, you cannot be spiritual and have money, and
money makes people compromise their values. Find out what you believe deep down
and allow yourself to be curious about the truth instead. Shedding light on your
limiting, source beliefs and replacing them truth is essential.
Denial is the other potent factor that will keep you asleep and not making financial
progress. Do you believe that if you REALLY look honestly at your finances, you
won't like what you see and be confronted with having to make a change you don't
want to make? If this is you, all I can tell you is your strategy is not working. Staying in
denial of reality, or flipping into magical thinking believing that the "law of attraction"
alone will create abundance, I'm sorry to say, won't get you anywhere.
You have to make it a priority to explore the negative beliefs you hold, and your lack
of honesty about reality in order to get to the root of your financial distress and turn it
into financial success. Then, you have to develop the courage to face where you are in
denial and take steps of corrective action.
Step 2: Become Financially Fluent
You have to build skills - practical skills that demonstrate your knowledge of how
money works. Although money is just another form of energy, it has simple rules
associated with it. For example, rule number one: you have to have more coming in
than going out. And, the only way to know this is to keep impeccable track of how
much you have and where it is going. As Suze Orman, the popular finance guru,
recommends, start by investigating what you spend on a monthly basis. This is where
your courage comes in -- most people are surprised by how much they spend. Or, you
might learn that you are spending beyond your means -- you don't have enough
coming in. The power of this investigation is that it offers you knowledge and then,
choice. Remember: knowledge is power.
Once you get a handle on the basics, you can then turn your attention to setting
specific goals that will help you achieve your vision of financial fitness. It's not enough
to say you want to be financially fit; you have to have tangible targets to reach for.
Define how much you want to make, how much savings is realistic, how much debt is
necessary, and what you want your retirement picture to look like in order to live free
of worry. Then, when it's time to make decisions about what you can and can not
afford, you decide based on facts, financial statements and whether the expense is
in alignment with your values and vision.
Finally, remember you don't have to do this alone. There are a lot of knowledgeable
experts in the field of financial management who can help you.
Step 3: Let it Flow and Leverage Everything
Once you've taken care of steps one and two which are practical in nature you are well
on your way to financial fitness. In order to stay there, and keep growing, you need to
adopt, commit to and practice ongoing perspective shifts that will maximize your
ability to enjoy your financial health as a lifestyle rather than a rote exercise you do
once.
If you truly understand that money is a form of energy, you will accept its natural flow
in and out of your possession. How you respond to that flow will determine how
stressed or relaxed you are. Finding your personal balance between appropriate
spending and saving, will allow you to enjoy your financial fitness giving you the
space to live your dreams and not be afraid. Financially fit people understand the
judicious use of credit and borrowing and can increase wealth with it. Financially fit
people take measured risks -- they know that risk is part of success. Finally financially
fit people are generous -- they use their creativity to design ways to serve others and
the world.
Learn to leverage everything -- time, money, resources and relationships. Set up
systems and technology to maximize your success, for example, do online banking
that can save you time. Arrange for any savings or tax liability to be automatically
deducted from your account. Don't rely on your own best intentions to save, make it a
non-option every month to pay yourself first.
Network; build your relationships so you can access support and resources easily.
And finally, educate yourself. Learning about money and how wealth grows is only
boring if you haven't looked at your original, dis-empowering beliefs. After all this is
about YOU and your choice to finally be free of financial stress so you can live and
fully enjoy the kind of life you say you want.
About the author: Helaine Iris is a Life and Business Coach, who has been featured in
numerous publications, including "O" The Oprah Magazine. She helps entrepreneurs
and professionals accelerate their success, while achieving a more complete and
fulfilling personal life. She combines a broad range of professional experience in her work,
including management positions in the education, training, retail and international non-profit
sectors. For a free consultation, contact her at 603-363.4252 to discuss how she can help you
accelerate your own success. You may also visit her website, Path of Purpose, for additional
information, or email your questions to helaine@pathofpurpose.com
home|your business|your office |your time |your home life|yourself |art|books|tools|site map|about us
|
Home Office Weekly is a BackPorch Publishing site Click Here to Get Your FREE SUBSCRIPTION Today! Marcia Passos Duffy, Publisher & Editor Author of Be Your Own Boss Error: unable to get links from server. Please make sure that your site supports either file_get_contents() or the cURL library. |
