Whatcha gonna do with all that money?
Try this exercise to reveal your limiting financial beliefs.
Mindset Mastery is a weekly newsletter about the psychology of small business ownership for creative entrepreneurs from Jenni Gritters. If you find this newsletter to be thought-provoking, inspiring or educational, I invite you to become a paid subscriber for $5/ month! Paid subscribers also receive monthly journaling prompts and exclusive newsletters on tricky topics.
I’m offline for vacation over this long weekend so I’m going to keep today’s newsletter fairly brief by giving you a money-related thought experiment to work through. (I’ve heard about this exercise a few times over the past few months, from Kate Northrup and Lindsay Roselle. All credit goes to them!)
Here’s the thought experiment:
Imagine that someone gave you a huge sum of money. I want you to pick a number that feels like a reach, but is still fathomable to some extent. Pick a number that would change your life substantially.
(For reference, when my husband and I did this, I picked $500,000 and he picked $1,000,000. One trillion dollars feels unfathomable to us, so we didn’t go that far.)
Got your number?
Great.
Now make a plan for how you’ll spend the money. Not just “some of it goes in savings, and some of it will be used to pay off my loans.” Nope, I want you to get specific. List dollar amounts. Note which accounts the money is going toward. Use it however you’d like.
As you do this exercise, you’ll also notice thoughts coming up related to the money. They might sound like:
I’m going to owe someone something if they gave me this money.
Earning that kind of money will make me suffer.
I can’t handle making that much money.
I don’t know how to invest.
I’m bad with money.
These are your limiting beliefs related to money. A limiting belief is a thought that feels like absolute truth in your mind (but usually isn’t). This belief stops you from doing certain things or taking action, even if you want to take action very badly.
Next, make a list of these thoughts and beliefs as they come up.
Noticing your limiting beliefs is a a big deal because it gives you a path toward more financial freedom. If you can question those beliefs, you’ll be better able to move past the limit. Here are a few questions to ask once you unearth your limiting beliefs:
Where did this belief come from? (If not you, who?)
What is the evidence that supports this belief?
What is the evidence that suggests this belief might not be true?
If you got to choose what to believe about money, what belief would you choose?
I also want you to notice how your body feels when you imagine making that amount of money. Close your eyes, do a body scan, and jot down any notes about your physical and emotional experiences, too.
All of this is information. It tells you where you’re getting blocked in terms of your finances. When I think about making $500,000, I immediately worry that I’d have to face burnout, overwork and suffering to get the money. That’s incredibly telling! If I can start to interrogate this belief — and what else might be true — I can start to feel more spacious about my financial experiences.
What comes up for you when you imagine making an unbelievable amount of money? Share it in the comments below.
Jenni
Curious about my background? I’m a writer and business coach based in Central Oregon. I have two small children and I work part-time so I can spend a lot of time with them. Lately, I’ve been obsessed with non-linear business building and teaching people how to build successful businesses that support their human needs first. Check out my coaching offerings here and follow me on Twitter & Instagram!
Such an interesting exercise. I automatically feel selfish for spending it on what I want to spend it on, rather than, I guess, saving it. And there is a fear that I should keep it "in case I need it" later.