Your Money Scripts

The mass perception of fewer options (no pun intended) can be practically paralyzing unless you are aware of it. I see it happening with people in my own life. Are there ways to loosen this self-imposed stranglehold? In trying times like this, it is all the more important to have complete awareness around your money relationship.

This climate tends to magnify people’s self-talk. Money scripts are running off the page so fast, you can’t keep up. If it was fear around money, it’s more fear now. If it was fog, more fog. If it was deprivation, more deprivation and scarcity.

So what are your money scripts?

Here is an interesting exercise to find out. Take a few moments to write down your responses to the following questions thought up by father and son psychologists Ted and Brad Klontz.

* Write down the first 8 to 10 words that come to mind when you think of the word “money.”
* Underline all of the words you have identified which you think have a negative connotation
* Write down three things that you are proud of in terms of your relationship to money.
* Write down three things that you feel badly about in terms of your relationship to money.
* Identify which list was easiest for you to complete.
* Write down your most joyful experience with money.
* Write down your most painful experience with money.
* Identify which memory was easiest for you to recall.

Take a twenty dollar bill and look at it. Write down the answer to the following question: What has this ever done to hurt you?

The obvious answer is that the piece of paper you were holding has never actually done anything to hurt you (unless you suffered a paper cut pulling it out of your wallet or purse). Rather, the feelings of hurt you may have related to money resulted from your experiences with people and situations, not the actual money itself.

So try to slow down and listen to your internal dialogue and feelings about money. What situations trigger what feelings around money? If you want to make yourself better or brighten up your day do you tell yourself, ” I deserve this” and pop into a store to pick up a book, a piece of clothing or food?

Harnessing our emotions is the key to making conscious changes with money. When you can observe yourself and watch how your beliefs and thoughts trigger actions, you can then rewire your circuitry to better serve your financial foundation.

Looking at your scripts is one of the best tools to help you disable the chatter that runs through your brain. The reason I think this is a helpful exercise is that most of us just don’t realize what we say to ourselves about money so this exercise helps give you some insight. Hope helpful!