As we wait for the world to open up again, many questions are lingering in the air, waiting for answers we’re unable to provide.
How will we go back to work?
Will we ever go back to where we were?
Do we even want to?
If not, what do we want instead – individually? As a collective?
Who influences what happens next?
Who makes the choices about which parts of the economy will thrive in the future?
How can we maintain the best of what we’ve gained over the last two months?
Is it remotely possible that we could move more quickly to a less polluted, kinder world?
And who makes those choices?
I could write pages of these questions and you probably could too. We’re in a most peculiar dynamic now where change has happened like a whirlwind passing through and yet we’re still wired so strongly to want what we wanted before corona – the goals, the success, the dreams.
At the same time, deep in our hearts, many people want something different as well – a deeper experience of life, more connected, less pushy, less exhausting, more fulfilling.
Then the question comes up, what about money? And back come the old goals and dreams again.
This is truly a remarkable and beautiful time, just as it’s a terrible time. It’s hard to think about the opportunity to slow down without thinking about the millions who’ve lost their livelihood, and this is just a tiny/huge part of the wider situation.
As these questions pass through me day after day, along with many others, I return time and again to the simplest principles I’ve learned about money that work for all of us, whatever our personal circumstances.
Seven Ways to Relate With Money That Create a Better Future
OLD: Work hard, doing something you dislike, in order to survive.
NEW: Work is your contribution. It’s a good thing. It elevates your spirit.
OLD: Get stressed and eventually exhausted, as you struggle to get stuff done.
NEW: Relax, whatever you’re doing. Everything will work better for you.
OLD: Work hard to get what you want. Do it all yourself.
NEW: Ask for what you want. Put it out there. Manifest. It actually works.
OLD: Wait to be happy once you’ve achieved your never-ending list of goals, and suffer in the meantime, aka delayed gratification.
NEW: Enjoy whatever you’re doing, even if it’s not ideal. It’s easier for good things to happen in the future if you’re happy now.
OLD: Feel guilty about being paid or making more than someone else less fortunate than yourself.
NEW: Welcome money and all forms of goodness into your life. Say Thank You.
OLD: Reject money even though you need it.
NEW: Have the courage to receive as well as give.
OLD: Keep your money-making secrets to yourself.
NEW: Share the new knowledge of how money works with generosity.
Photo by drmakete lab on Unsplash
