Violet opened the envelope with some trepidation. She knew what waited for her inside—another bill. Another thing she would need to pay whilst already juggling her limited finances.
It seemed that there was always something for her to pay—rent, food, petrol, not to mention all the household bills of gas, electricity, and telephone. Her money was always stretched thin.
Violet felt like she was living from pay cheque to pay cheque, waiting for her wages to hit the bank every week and then disappear with each bill being paid.
She hated the feeling of not being able to afford to live, and she hated being reliant on her job just to pay the bills.
She had forgotten how many times she had shopped in the supermarket and mentally calculated how much money she could spend on food, denying herself certain things because they were just too expensive.
Money—and the feeling of never having enough of it—consumed Violet’s thoughts every waking hour as she kept repeating and replaying the story of “I don’t have enough money”.
Many people feel the pressure of not having enough money. We all want to satisfy our basic needs of having food in our belly and a roof over our heads—it’s how humans fundamentally feel safe and secure.
As a result, not having enough money can make us feel miserable. There is no denying that it stops us from being happy and enjoying life.
However, there are many reasons why people feel that they do not have enough money: it could be they are spending frivolously, don’t have a budget, are neglecting their savings account, have too many costly commitments, or are just living beyond their means.
Whatever the reason, money troubles stop people from living the life they want and deserve.
Whilst there is no magic pill that can just make more money, awareness of your beliefs and thoughts around money can help.
So for this week’s challenge, I invite you to look at your beliefs around money. Beliefs such as “I am a poor”, “I don’t come from money”, “someone from my type of background doesn’t make money”, “money is bad”, “I don’t deserve money”, or “money is evil”. These kinds of thoughts can stop you from making money—and stop you from keeping it!
Once you have identified which story rings most true for you, you can start to challenge it by writing a list of 20 reasons why having money would be useful and good for you. Focus on why you deserve it. Think also about what it could mean for others. Think of people who have contradicted the story or belief you have and proved it wrong. Then repeat this process for the entire week, every day.
This process will assist you in challenging how you see money and its relationship with you. It will start to teach your mind to rethink and see money in a different light.
Whilst this challenge will not make you money, it will bring your beliefs to light so that you can become aware of your stories surrounding money. Do this, and you might just find what is actually stopping you from having more money.
Like all negative beliefs and stories, they can only be disrupted and dismantled when you are aware of them and have challenged them.
So take the time to find out if your stories about money are preventing you from living the life you want and deserve.
Deborah Ruth
Storyteller
