You have a moment of inspiration, and it bubbles up: I should buy myself this thing, or invest in this program, or experience, etc. Just as your heart starts pounding with excitement, your mind clouds over with doubts and arguments against it. Ultimately you land on the conclusion that it’s too much money, and you drop it (and your heart drops with it). Sound like anyone you know?
It is so very acceptable in our society, and in this economy, to say it was too much money. Most people will just nod knowingly ‘You’re not self-sabotaging; you are being fiscally responsible – good for you!’ I’m not one of those people.
Very often, behind the excuse of it being too much money, there sit tougher to admit reasons: guilt, shame, and a sense of unworthiness. “Who am I to be spending this, on MYSELF?!” It’s easy to test this: would you take that exact sum of money and invest it in something for a loved one without hesitation? Would you willingly pay it to rehabilitate a physical injury? To secure a new job? To support a charity? If the answer is yes, then it’s really not about the money, honey. Either the idea is unworthy of the investment, or you are…
So then you say, ah yes! That was just a stupid idea; you can drop it now. Okay….but if it was so stupid, why did your heart start to race at the thought of it? Why did the part of you that hosts your intuition and your soul have a very physical, positive reaction? Our intuition knows exactly how to get our attention when we’re in danger, but if you’ve lost the habit of living in tune with it daily, it has very limited options to get your attention when something is exactly right for you. A pounding heart and sweaty palms might be all that you’ll get when you’re at the brink of unlocking something very valuable and important to you. And if you dismiss it, you could be dismissing your very soul.
Go ahead and call me a bad influence (join the club! I’m terrifying to shop with!), but it doesn’t change the truth of this insight. I am all for spending with intention, and I recognize the value of budgets and smart money decisions. I’m just inviting you to bring your intuition to the decision table, and if you realize that it’s not actually about the money, then follow that insight. It might set you free from a prison you didn’t even know you locked yourself in.
