One of my clients posed such an insightful question during her session that I decided to make it the content of my December Newsletter. We were talking about the idea of becoming the bigger version of ourselves, and how all the personal development websites, blogs, articles and newsletters talk about this as if it’s something we’re all supposed to do. I loved the inquiry she was raising – is bigger really better?
The conversation also had to do with the topic of money. So although she does want to make more money, as we all do, our conversation also entailed the inquiry of “Is making more money really better?” With more money comes more responsibility, along with the desire to spend more and then possibly to take on more expenses because now we can do more with it.
She wasn’t sure how much she resonated with some of the ideas that were being encouraged and acknowledged the inner conflict she was having that may have been getting in her way of actually making more. She was clear about her reasons for wanting to make more money and it wasn’t that she was resisting the actual generating of more income. It was more about the question of “where is our need and desire to earn more money coming from?”
Getting clear about the “why” we do things is what reveals most about what we value and what’s really important to us. So, is the desire to make more money coming from our ego and our need to “look good?” Or will having more money truly serve her and the world around her, allowing her to have more things in turn enhancing her surrounding environment.
Most of us don’t think about money in this way. Most of the conversations or ideas we have about money are those such as:
-how can I make more?
-where does it all go?
-how will I be able to save more money?
-how come they have more than I do?
-why is it so much easier for other people to make a lot of money and it isn’t for me?
And then there are those really unproductive thoughts about money such as:
-money doesn’t grow on trees
-money is the root of all evil
And then there is this one… a client shared how the joke was on her when she realized that she used to say “I’m going for broke” and how that impacted her financial life. You can imagine how it did. Needless to say she is “rebuilding” her finances once again.
Money aside…what does a bigger version of you look like? Bigger meaning you are truly utilizing all of your talents; you aren’t letting your fear hold you back and instead are just going for it regardless of how it turns out; you tap into all of your internal resources and see how you can take advantage of your external ones. To continue on this rant…bigger meaning how can I challenge myself more? What does taking myself to the next level mean? What are those qualities I want to work on and in what way can I improve that can be a benefit to me and be a benefit to others as well?
What have you said no to this year because you talked yourself out of it and found reasons not to do it? Let’s imagine for a moment that 2012 was the Year of Yes. I got so inspired by this that I bought a beautiful painting that has a “YES” tree on it. It was at a time that I was really practicing just saying yes, even in the face of fear.
By saying yes to accompanying a friend to Guatemala, apart from having an amazing vacation, it then lead me to saying yes to volunteering to develop content and facilitate at a University in China. By saying yes to joining a networking group this past April, that lead me to growing my business by 33%; I have increased my own professional capacities (such as networking, how to quickly and effectively represent what I do, and increase my exposure so more people know who I am), and who knew that one of the group members who became a client would set me up on a blind date with the fun result being – we hit it off.
Believe it or not when I was thinking about joining my Le Tip group, I saw it as “a risk” and wasn’t sure what my return on investment would be. Apart from growing my business of course to make more money, I was clear about what I wanted to learn and thought, “heck, I haven’t tried it yet so why not?” So what risk are you willing to take so that you can become a bigger version of yourself? And is it really a risk when your life isn’t on the line? Okay so sometimes it can be perceived as a financial one, but what might you learn as a result of the experience?
If you’re clear about your intentions and you know what you value, well then honoring yourself can never be a risk. Make 2012 your Year of Yes and see what happens. If in the end, you end up “looking good”, well then so be it.