But, money isn’t exciting because it’s money. It’s exciting because of what money can do. Buy things. Help people. Have experiences.
Beyond all things, money is exciting because it promises, in large enough doses, a sense of safety, stability and freedom that isn’t always easy to find without it.
Money itself isn’t, though, the “thing” we want— your brain won’t get wildly fired up over dreaming about dollars. Even millions of them. Not dollars in themselves. It’s science and the it’s true when you think about it: money is not a primary motivator.
Meaning: your brain could care less about it, unless you’re focused on the things that you can do with that money.
It really isn’t about money. It’s about what money can do.
So, if you’re looking for more abundance, why not start living a richer life?
There are qualities of an abundant lifestyle— free time, indulgent self- care, luscious sensory experiences, creative freedom, beautiful environments— that get listed off to me every time I ask someone why they’re working so incredibly hard and chasing money.
If you’re wondering what an abundant lifestyle means to you, well:
What will you do with an extra $100,000 a year? How would you change your lifestyle? How do you see yourself spending your days?
Catherine Ponder, one of the OG classic writers of abundance manifesting books, has said that she’s been broke before but she’s never been poor. Broke is a temporary condition of not having money on hand. Poor, she explains, is more of a state of being.
I’ve been broke and living an extravagant life in so many ways at the same time.
It’s funny because those “broke” times passed pretty fast.
Full of afternoons on the beach and swimming, several mile scenic hikes, incredible free art events to attend, lots of creative cooking experiments to make the most of a trip to the market, all kinds of writing and creativity… I worked, but just enough to barely get by a lot of the time because I wanted to live a lot. It wasn’t ideal, but the more I followed my intuition, money would come to me fast – even at the last moment- when I was in this freestyle rich state of living.
This freestyle life, though, was so extreme that it was actually teetering on irresponsible. It wasn’t perfect how far I went to avoid commitment, stability or other awesome things. Ok, it was completely irresponsible in many ways. And, I made some less-than-awesome choices at that time, as much as it felt like I was living a dream at times. I was never going to let myself forget it.
Rigor replaced lifestyle. I’ve come to see, it happens to a lot of us. Extremes are never that awesome.
Soon after, when I was doing really well financially, I was actually poor. I equated my luxe life of beach days and wild creative joy with laziness and my really bad decisions. I was in a grind and I was empty. Funny thing was, I actually had more money than when I was truly broke. My life was poor. I sat around more, worrying and wishing I had someone else’s job and life and ease. I was deeply stressed and in denial. I beat myself up in words, cried a lot, didn’t eat well and barely exercised or went to see any art or sun or anything.
That poor place felt like it lasted forever. No amount of money could cure it, and I worked my a$$ off for that money. What was stunning was that I was trying to get motivated my money— my whole life was a non-stop grueling work hell— and it wasn’t motivating anything. Everything was never enough and it never stuck around.
I’m so glad I took a lot of my rich life back, even if it took a while for the money itself to fully catch up to what I wanted. It opened so many doors. And the greatest paradox is true— it brought me back to a place where it really wasn’t about money.
Sunshine, days off, art everywhere, long walks, day movies alone, wandering flea markets, getting into crafts, experiments, reading for fun, farmers markets, long teas with dear friends, art… And, I still worked, but I didn’t suffer like I used to, and the money came in ways that I never could have expected.
Lifestyle is really important.
The things that are abundant, rich, glamorous— are often free, or nearly free!
The things that are rich for you— whether it’s the free time, the life purpose, the missions and projects, the self-care, the deep nature, the art— whatever you’re going to do when you have that extra cash— these are the kind of things you may want to start indulging in now.
It wasn’t my “mind” and “mind programs” holding me back in the biggest way, or my family ideas or anything else— it was whether or not I let myself live the way I wanted to live.
Isn’t that the thing we want from money— freedom to do what we want?
Do even a little more of that now — what you want to do— and you might see a shift. Where, even if you’re broke, or not where you want to be with cash right now- your life is richer. You’re more grounded, more you, more open, less consumed with stress and strife.
A richer life on your own terms can be magnetic in itself.
xoxo Dana
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