"Money ranks with love as man's greatest source of joy and with
death as his greatest source of anxiety." John Kenneth Galbraith
Money...finances...investments. These words alone can often
elicit a strong response in a person. Oddly enough, this state is
reserved not only for those who feel they lack money or wealth. Wealth
is relative - what is a pittance to one person may be a fortune to
another. Generally, what I have found is that those who don't have much
money are anxious to gain more, and those who have accumulated wealth
are worried about losing it!
Often, just thinking about the current state of your finances,
such as your net-worth (assets minus liabilities), credit card balances
or yet-to-be-filed tax returns can elicit a response to start your
tapping sequence on.
The means by which we make our income can also elicit negative
emotions. Over six months ago I had a problem about choosing whether to
reduce my hours of part-time employment, in order to have more time to
devote to building my consultancy business. Whenever I came to thinking
or talking about forgoing part of my steady income, I would get a
feeling in my gut, which I would rate on the scale of a 6-7 in
intensity.
At first I started to tap on the sensation I was experiencing,
which reduced it's intensity, and then proceeded to identify some core
issues surrounding these anxious feelings:
"I would be putting my family in a financially precarious
position. I shouldn't do this now, when there are bills to pay (when
are there not ???)"
Even though I am irresponsible, I deeply and completely accept myself.
Even though I worry that I'm putting us in the poor house...
Even though I am creating financial stress for our family...
Even though I am being selfish...
After a number of rounds of tapping, I was able to reduce the anxiety
level down to 1. I continue tapping as issues arise from time to time,
but am much calmer and I've made the decision to reduce my employed
hours and devote that time to my business. I now feel excitement,
rather than trepidation, when I think of my work, income and planning
my next steps.
(Six months on.... there have certainly been testing times, anxious
moments, and at times, cash shortages. Yet with the use of EFT, these
feelings subsided, allowing me to focus on positive actions and
subsequent successes. A spin-off was that my self-employed husband saw
the benefits in using EFT himself too. The use of The Cash Catcher (see
below) also helped me to manage my cash resources during this time.
Using this tool together with EFT to handle the emotional issues that
arose proved to be a powerful combination.)
Some of the statements that I have found are commonly evoked when people are faced with money issues are:
Even though I should have $000's at this stage of my life, I fully and completely accept myself.
Even though I am a financial failure...
Even though I never have enough to pay my bills...
Even though I'm no good with money...
Even though I think that rich people are bad people...
Even though wanting more money is greedy...
Even though I am hopeless with finances...
Even though I am stupid when it comes to money...
Even though I spend more than I earn...
Think through some episodes from your past that involved money.
It may have been shame at standing at the cash register being told that
your credit card has "insufficient funds", or even being caught with
your fingers in the till (or Dad's wallet).
You can begin by tapping on the feelings that come up as you remember
the incidents in your life, using
Gary Craig's "Run the Movie"
technique (www.emofree.com).
Women's Money Issues
"Money, money, money... it's a rich man's world", ABBA
Through my work in teaching finance and investment to both men
and women, I have found some profound gender differences. In
particular, many women hold a strong belief in their innate inability
to handle and understand finances.
Beliefs about money - earning it, spending it, saving and
investing it, start early in life and are usually learned from our
parents and siblings. Perhaps our love had been bought with money from
an absent father. Or we have been raised to equate money with something
unfeminine, even dirty.
Here are some additional examples of statements to do a sequence of tapping on, which may especially resonate with women.
Even though I am stupid when it comes to finances...
Even though I am waiting to be rescued...
Even though I am intimidated by financial talk...
Even though I hate anything to do with finances...
Even though I am not responsible with money...
Even though I spend all my money on (shoes, clothes...)...
Even though I want to be taken care of...
Even though I am scared of being poor...
Even though I am scared of making a mistake...
Even though I shouldn't have to do this myself...
Even though I don't deserve to have wealth...
Even though I won't be accepted if I have money...
I'm sure you can add some more of your own - get tapping on those too!
Lois Keay-Smith
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PS: Lois Keay-Smith has just released "The Cash Catcher",
a booklet that acts as your personal prosperity assistant by helping
you to keep track of your expenses and identify your feelings and
emotions about the purchases you make. This is an excellent resource as
it also allows you to identify the emotions that are driving your
purchases on a regular basis. You can then apply EFT to those emotions
and change your purchasing habits forever by treating the emotional
roots of your spending behaviour.
We are impressed with the potential of the Cash Catcher for helping
ordinary people to take charge of their finances, and have purchased
some copies from Lois (Joy from our office is already using hers!) and
we are making these available at the special price of A$7.95 each, plus
postage and handling. There's also a special deal to purchase the cash
catcher together with our Pocket Guide to Emotional Freedom for just
A$25 (plus P&H) while stocks last!
To find out more about the Cash Catcher and these special offers, please email
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About Lois: Lois Keay-Smith has worked in the finance
industry for 15 years - much of that time as a financial educator for
the Australian Stock Exchange. Lois now helps people to discover and
pursue work that they love, whilst addressing money issues. Lois works
with individuals and groups as a career consultant and speaker.
Subscribe to Lois' e-zine at http://www.mindovermoney.com.au