Money Stress

If money isn't the number one thing that people get stressed out about, it's certainly way up at the top of the list! Let's face it, in this modern era we depend on money for just about everything we have and do in our lives. There were times when most people would barter, but those days are pretty much gone. For many of us, worrying about money was ingrained in us from childhood.

I was lucky that my mother never worried about money, but my father…well, he had his fair share of money worries. Though he had a good job, and my mother worked as well, he would often wake up early in the morning and not be able to get back to sleep because of these worries. Sometimes he would talk about maybe not having enough. The funny thing was that we always had enough, and all the bills were always paid. It strikes me as funny that he could worry so much about money, but not really have a money problem.

So where did the worry and stress come from? In my father's case, the impending financial disasters were imagined and never realized, but the fear, worry, and stress still continued. My father was born in 1939. Two years later, the U.S. was at war in Europe, and the entire country endured rations and other cutbacks in everyday lifestyle. My father was taught to focus closely on lack and not enough. Couple that with the fact that he had five brothers and five sisters, where hand-me-downs were the only things he could call his own, and I'd say that's enough to ingrain a huge fear of not enough money.

We are heavily influenced by our early experiences in the home regarding money and stress about it. One interesting thing to ask yourself is, "What was the very first experience I can remember about money from my childhood?" For most people, it's something like, "My mother told me not to put coins in my mouth because money is 'dirty.'" Or, "I was given a special treasure, and then it was taken away." These people, like my father, would be very much helped by releasing the old, habitual way of thinking and adopting a new set of beliefs about money and their relationship to it.

One way to do that is to really investigate your finances. Suze Orman, author of many financial management books, often talks about the fact that most people don't really know the state of their finances. If your money matters are in bad shape, it's best that you know about it as soon as possible, so that you can change the patterns and begin to create a plan. You may also find that you are better off than you thought, and this will easily boost your confidence and maybe even encourage you to do even better!

Another way to alleviate your money stress is to search out financial information. It's all over the web, there are television shows dedicated to it, and even radio shows with excellent advice from people like Ken Beck, or Bob Brinker. You don't have to become a financial genius, but searching for what could work for you in your current situation is very wise. Then, once you've determined where you are, then you can begin to find out about future strategies and planning.

Of course, another way to help yourself immediately would be to realize who you really are: You are a beautiful spark of Spirit, focusing intently on the life you are living, and you have a choice as to exactly what you want to focus on. When you are faced with a problem, you can focus on the problem, or you can focus on the solution. When you think about money, no matter what is going on in your life, you will do better by far if you focus on the abundance side of it!

With much peace and prosperity,
Kim Markison for Hypno-Freedom.com