Well-Being and Money

My well-being is independent of my bank account balance.

My sense of what is possible for me is independent of my bank account balance.

My willingness to do new things and learn is independent of my bank account balance.

I was inspired to write the above while reading a book written by one of my mentors. I know that a ready objection to any of the above statements is that it often feels like well-being, etc. is indeed dependent on one’s bank account balance. But it doesn’t have to be.

What I want is for those statements to get you thinking:

Thinking about what it is about how your life is arranged – nay, how your thinking is arranged – such that your well-being, your willingness to learn, your willingness to try new things or your sense of what’s possible is tied to your bank account balance.

My main point here is that (in the passage that sparked this post) my mentor was talking with people with lots of money, and yet they were still worried about money – and didn’t think they had the freedom they indeed had.

So, if you feel you don’t have enough money (and perhaps you don’t have as much as you could… ) or if you have lots of money and still feel poor, it’s in your head. Feeling wealthy is a (mental) choice and it makes little difference how much money you actually have. It’s a choice that starts with the thoughts you think (and repeat over time).

(Psst… a little secret, my research has shown that creating and sustaining feelings of wealth (i.e. being grateful for what you have) and being willing to go for what you truly want results in having more-than-enough money most of the time.)