The Science Behind the Law of Attraction Magazine Full Nov. 2019 Mag | Page 10

What If
Money
Wer e NO
Object ?
By Kat hleen Kempf
Can you imagine what t hat woul d be l ike?
No reason to worry, use harsh words or hold
negative beliefs about money. No limit to what
you could be, do or have! No fear when dealing
with money or anxiety when making financial
decisions. Equally important; no more shame,
blame or guilt associated with money.
"Impossible!", you say. "A pretty tall order."
"She must be crazy!" Or how about, "Not
another one of those unrealistic dreamers who
live in a bubble, not in the real world! She should walk in my shoes and then her story would change." I have
heard these remarks and many that were far less kind throughout my lifetime.
I can promise you none of them is true. There is not only sense but a little bit of magic in thinking only
positive thoughts about money.
The absolute truth is money is an inanimate object. It takes on whatever characteristics, fears or beliefs we
attach to it. By changing those thoughts, beliefs, words, and actions it is possible to change our relationship
with money. ?How to make that shift??, was my question. Answering it was my goal. Being a financial
advisor taught me how to put it into practice. So, let's start there.
I had a client who worked very hard her entire life. She was a loving single mom, a conscientious provider
and a good friend. She went through a difficult and unexpected divorce late in her career. Believe it or not
women, as well as men, can often lose their assets to an undeserving spouse due to community property.
Bottom line, when she came to consult with me, she was discouraged, overwhelmed, disillusioned, afraid,
and convinced that she would never be able to retire. I'm sure you can see why she may have felt that way.
She dreaded thinking, let alone talking about money. Her feelings towards anything that had to do with
money were negative. Her beliefs about herself and her ability to handle money were filled with doubt,
shame, guilt, and confusion. Having become accustomed to living a life of survival for so long, she no longer
remembered how amazing she was.
The first thing she needed was to put everything into its' proper perspective. She was not the problem, nor
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was money the problem. She was an intelligent, funny, brilliant, successful woman. There was a traumatic
situation that needed to be dealt with. Stripping out the emotion, while dealing with it, was not going to be
easy. This is where we often get stopped. How could I help? I remembered a very important principle I'd
learned. Change your thinking, change your life. If she could deal with the emotions, she could let go of them.
Then they would no longer hold a grip over her, keeping her from the life she desired. I needed to find a way
to help change her thinking.
Since feelings affect how we think, shifting them would give
her the means to change her thinking. I shared the spiritual
practice of using positive affirmations to restate negative
thoughts. We created a few that restated her current feelings.
She put the affirmations in places she could easily see every
day to help her reframe her mindset as needed. With
encouragement on my part, and applying the practices on her
part, she was able to gain a new perspective on the situation.
Gradually she overcame the crippling emotions she had
carried for too long.
Besides doing spiritual work, we spent time objectively
looking at her finances and retirement opportunities. I explained that there were many ways to generate a
retirement income. Many of them she had never heard of or considered before. She became optimistic and
excited about the future. We mindfully constructed a solution that included additional spiritual practices
and a financial plan she could put into action. Gradually, everything fell into place much to her amazement.
But I never had any doubt in her resilience or ability to be prosperous. She is now blissfully retired, living
the dream she thought wasn't possible. Together we made it happen.
In thinking about the phrase, ?If money were no object?' so often I find the real tragedy lies in the inability
for people to dream. Their measure of success has been distorted into how much they own, what is their job
title or where they live. Being a good parent is more than caring for their children, it is how much they can
give them and what school district they live in. Imagination is stifled by these limits causing people to give
up on thinking in terms of what they desire.
For me, every financial plan begins with a dream or vision. Visioning is a spiritual practice, but it is also an
important financial process when creating what you truly desire. Let's be honest. Everything that you "be, do
or have" in some way is affected by money. Even if you want to do nothing, spend time with your family or
volunteer, you need to have money. Combining the two play an important part in succeeding to achieve the
life you desire.
To illustrate my point, another client comes to mind. At the time she had a successful career as a social
worker. The work was very rewarding, and she loved doing it. She told me about her concerns for retiring,
eliminating debt, finding ways to increase her savings and had questions about her house. There had been a
downturn in the economy, the mortgage rate was high. Should she reduce or eliminate the expense? To her,
the situation felt daunting.
When I finished listening, I told her there were many ways to
address her concerns. More importantly, what I wanted to know
was: What did she desire more than anything? If money were no
object how would she answer that question? What was her
dream?' She became quiet and thought for a few minutes. Setting
aside all of the concerns she previously expressed, what she
wanted more than anything was to make a difference as a social
worker. Her idea was to expand her service to others having
potentially greater needs than those close to home. She wanted
to join Doctors Without Borders. The position didn't pay very
much but the chance to use her talents in this way went beyond
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