Have you noticed how times of uncertainty tend to bring out our fears of “not enough”? That ugly core belief of lack and limitation raises its sneaky head and tries throwing us for a loop.
A young friend recently shared how her financial situation seemed overwhelming. I was curious. She has a steady job, makes good money and isn’t completely underwater in debt. She admits to not having the best spending habits; she has a fondness for the nicer things in life and she hasn’t been inclined to make savings a priority.
So why is she feeling overwhelmed? Because she has a new passionate goal: to buy a condo instead of renting. She knows exactly what she wants and where it’s located. She can’t see a clear pathway to achieving her goal. She feels stuck in in a hamster wheel, thanks to the financial patterns she’s created.
Getting from here (where we are right now) to there (the longed for goal) feels overwhelming without a map, especially when our habits aren’t set to the abundance channel, right? How to even get started changing our money habits enough to pay off debt and build enough savings to make the dream a reality? It’s impossible!
This is probably how the lyrics “dream the impossible dream” came to be written. Ever feel that way, that your dream is impossible to achieve? That the “spend less, save more” advice is easy to say and harder to do?
Today I write to tell you that it is infinitely possible to achieve a dream like this. And the path is so simple, most people completely overlook it. So today I’m sharing four simple questions I ask myself whenever I want to achieve a new goal.
4 Easy Questions to Make Your Goal Financially Possible
Ask yourself (and answer) these four questions, first thing every morning:
1: Is there anything I absolutely need to spend money on today? When you’re faced with “there’s not enough” to move your dream forward, it’s time to take out the microscope and examine every expense you’re contemplating today. Then take action to make that expense disappear. Pack your lunch, make something out of whatever is on hand for dinner, even if it’s a smorgasbord of odd items. Skip any and all opportunities to spend money, just for today. Think of it as the financial version of “meatless Mondays.” I learned this technique years ago from Lenandra J. Carroll’s book, The Architecture of All Abundance, which I highly recommend.
2: What can I sell or give away to generate income or free up space and energy? Our lives are full of “stuff” – things other people are looking for, that they would actually put to good use. An early step in my 21 Days to A Fully Abundant Life program is “give something away to someone else today.” Free up the financial energy you have trapped in items you don’t use, or haven’t used for 18 months. (You can get a free copy of that program on my website.)
3: What one financial issue or belief can I take a step toward cleaning up? Maybe you’ve tied up your money due to a recent addiction to food delivery services, or an abundance of recurring subscription services. Delete the UberEats or GrubHub app, or review all your recurring subscription services and see which one you want to cancel today. Maybe it’s an old financial situation that feeds your core belief of guilt or unworthiness. Think about any place you’ve ever been out of financial integrity, or have resentments toward others because of some money issue between you. Acknowledge your part, and send even a single dollar today if there is someone you owe money. Clean up any old resentments, reminding yourself that whatever you did or didn’t do “seemed like a good idea at the time.”
4: What step can I take today to generate income? Most people immediately think about what they can do “out there” to bring more money “in here.” But our efforts are usually tinged with a desire to “get” instead of to “receive.” Feel the difference? Are you trying to make money, or have it effortlessly drawn to you? The greatest resource I can recommend is still the first prosperity book I ever read: Prosperity Secrets of the Ages, by Catherine Ponder (who decades later wrote the Foreword to my book, Giving Thanks: The Art of Tithing.) Simple affirmations and denials will start transforming your financial situation more powerfully than any passive income stream you’ll ever find.
Try these two on for size, repeating them over and over again, silently, quietly, with gusto or full voice, as you desire:
My old beliefs about money, lack and limitation have no power over me.
All that is required to achieve my dream appears in my life in the most delightful, expected and unexpected ways, today and every day.
