Why trying to feel better is a waste of time––and what actually creates financial freedom.
Albert Einstein once said that we cannot solve our problems with the same thinking that we used to create them. That’s especially true when it comes to financial worry.
If you’ve experienced financial stress for any significant amount of time, you’ve almost certainly asked yourself how to stop stressing about money.
You may not realize it, but hidden within that question is an assumption so reflexive, so taken for granted, that it’s invisible:
The belief that there is an activity that, if performed correctly, would eliminate money worries from your life.
As you read those words, you may have even thought: “Well, yeah. Of course! How else would I find peace of mind or achieve my financial goals? I have to do something. It’s not going to just happen!”
Sure, it sounds logical. It seems correct. But, just one question: has it worked? Has the search for a fast answer to stress ever actually helped you feel less stressed?
You might say, “No, it hasn’t”, while countering that perhaps you simply haven’t found the “right” answer yet. And that you just need to keep looking.
But how many times have you told yourself that this time will be different? Believing the latest book, budgeting system, or such-and-such strategy will finally bring you security—only to find yourself right back where you started?
If you always end up feeling overwhelmed no matter what you try, let’s discuss a different approach.
The search for a “fix” perpetuates your stress by stopping you from understanding the true source of the problem.
What I’m about to say goes against everything that we grow up hearing about success, happiness, and most definitely financial freedom.
When you search for a “fix” to any kind of significant life issue, that very search perpetuates the issue.
How? By diverting your awareness away from seeing the true underlying nature of the problem.
You become so preoccupied with finding a way to instantly change what you’re going through, that you repeat the same cycles over and over, never breaking free.
It’s easy to fall into this trap because in some areas of life, quick fixes actually work.
These kinds of problems are mechanical in nature: fixing a computer, filling out a tax form, learning the correct way to do push-ups, and so on. Finding an effective “fix” can be quite easy in these cases.
But when it comes to complex life issues that involve emotions, perceptions, and attitudes about something as meaningful as money, no singular act can “fix it.”
And the more mental energy you devote to searching for the one, magical answer, the less able you are to see the deeper dynamics keeping you stuck.
Let’s say, for instance, that you have a lot of credit card debt. You go through life feeling guilty about the overall financial situation the debt has put you in. It takes a clear and growing toll on your mental health.
Then, one day, you decide to do debt consolidation. You feel a surge of relief. It’s like you can finally breathe again. But then, a few months later, the familiar weight of debt (and shame) returns.
If you are perceptive of what’s happening here, an uneasy realization sets in– The debt consolidation didn’t actually “fix” anything.
Because the real issue wasn’t the debt. It was the habit of relying on credit cards for unexpected expenses in the first place.
And that habit, itself, comes from a deep seated and scarcity-based way of looking at your personal finances.
As a result, despite the initial relief you may have felt, you’re right back in the same situation that you thought debt consolidation was the “way out” of.
Now, please understand: my point here is not that debt consolidation is always a bad idea. Or that you shouldn’t save, invest, or ask for a raise. I encourage you to take whatever action your instincts tell you is best in any given moment.
My point is that without digging below the surface of your money problems, most “fixes” will just be a papering over of them, before they inevitably resurface somewhere else.
Asking how to stop feeling stressed about money is a losing game because all that can ever come of it are band-aids that fix nothing.
This one realization, as uncomfortable and “non-actionable” as it might seem right now, is actually THE KEY to getting somewhere with your money!
The question is: do you want to “stop stressing” about money, or do you want to MASTER it?
Don’t be too quick to answer!
The truth is, most people who are reading this article will continue the chase for a fast way to stop feeling stressed. And they will do it for the rest of their lives. Never realizing the true path to long term wealth.
“How to stop worrying about money” is a question that only allows for a certain kind of answer: those which promise to quickly raise your bank account balance.
There’s nothing wrong with this being the question that you ask. It’s simply a matter of whether the answers it leads to are acceptable or not. If they are, nothing needs to change.
But, if what you’re seeking is a permanent transcendence of money problems –– and arriving at a place in your life where you are truly abundant –– then “how to not stress about money” is a low-level question. One that, frankly, is beneath you.
Financial freedom requires moving beyond band-aids and novocaine. This is a path of mastery.
Mastery comes from a path of understanding your relationship to money on such a deep and intimate level, that it rewires your mind for a level of abundance you have never known.
Your first steps down this path will most likely feel confusing, or even scary. After all, you’re coming face-to-face with engrained patterns that have chained you to scarcity and constant worrying without you even knowing it.
If you can persevere through this, though, something quite incredible and empowering starts to happen.
You come to find that you are no longer just dodging the debris of financial stress, but actually building wealth!
The choice is yours: continue the cycle, wondering how to stop stressing about money, or take your first real step toward mastering money. If you’re ready for the latter, download my free Abundance Activation Meditation and start rewiring your mind for financial freedom.
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