Why You Need A Financial Spiritual Practice in 2023
/If you are looking to elevate your financial health, most folks turn to tactical steps such as restricting their spending, organizing their bookkeeping, hiring a tax accountant.
While these steps are a move in the right direction, they do not address the root of your financial health. Similar to your physical health, a holistic approach needs to be taken to improve your financial health. Let’s imagine you want to get in better shape. Maybe it’s not about losing weight, but you want to feel stronger in your body and do what you can to ensure long-lasting vitality. Perhaps you decide you need to cut back on your sugar intake and swap out veggies for fries. These are great first steps.
But what about exercise?
And if you have a poor self-image, what about practices to help heal your relationship with your body?
Also, how many times have you tried to cut back on sugar and eat more veggies, only to return to your old eating patterns?
This is because simply making diet changes is not sustainable. Why? Because it is not addressing the root of your physical health. The root of your physical health is your relationship with your body and your relationship with food. Until you address why you overeat, why you reach for sugar over a salad, why you do not feel motivated to do a 30-minute movement routine to work up a sweat, the changes you try to implement will not be a lifestyle shift. It may last for a few weeks, maybe a few months, but you’ll soon be back to your old patterns.
Similarly, elevating your financial health requires getting to the root of your relationship with money. Then you can begin to heal your relationship with money and create long-lasting wealth. One of the ways to cultivate a healthy relationship with money is to have a financial spiritual practice.
Financial health disorders
Due to the abusive financial system we all live under, many of us have developed financial health disorders. These disorders stem from a scarcity money mindset and impact our money choices. Similar to an eating disorder, a financial health disorder can wreak havoc on your mental health, your self-worth, and your financial life.
What is a scarcity money mindset? A scarcity money mindset holds the core belief that there are not enough financial resources to go around. Some of the associated characteristics include:
Financial despair: a hopeless feeling that this is just how things are always going to be
Financial self-flagellation: sacrificing or harming one’s financial health due to low self-esteem
These characteristics, amongst others, lead to financial anxiety and financial stress. Stress and anxiety have a profound impact on your mental health and ability to feel whole. If you do not address these underlying issues, no amount of money will make you feel good. It is imperative to address the root of your financial health along your journey of financial freedom.
How a financial spiritual practice can help
A financial spiritual practice is a consistent ritual of engaging with your finances. The primary intention is to bring awareness to your financial decisions and the underlying reasons for them. It creates space between you and your finances so that you can objectively assess why or why not your financial health is where you would like it to be.
The three main benefits of a financial spiritual practice are:
It introduces money mindfulness. Awareness is key to any healing process.
It reframes your connection with money allowing you to see money as a tool for peace, joy, and fulfillment. Rather than a master that dictates how you live your life.
It reclaims your power by releasing the control that financial systems have over you, your decisions, and your experiences.
How do you create a financial spiritual practice?
The key is consistency. Similar to a yoga practice or a practice around body awareness, it takes time to cultivate your own flow. The consistent practice will yield profound benefits over a sustained period of time. Here are a few ideas to help you get started:
Weekly money dates - this is a time to sit down to review your finances, celebrate your wins, and reflect on how you can use your money to make a difference. Watch this video to learn more about a weekly money date and to download your money date checklist.
Daily visualization - spend a few minutes every day visualizing the woman you are becoming and a life of financial peace, financial joy, and financial fulfillment. What does it look like? What does it feel like in your body?
