Posts Tagged ‘Financial survival’

Years ago, when I was attending a number of 12-Step programs, I learned the Serenity Prayer and repeated it often. The Serenity Prayer states:

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

Let’s look at the phrase, “accept the things I cannot change.”

During these tumultuous times acceptance can be an antidote to fear. Acceptance allows you to find solutions to your problems and to experience peace of mind, no matter what is going on the world. Non-acceptance leads to dissatisfaction and many forms of emotional discomfort as well as poor financial decisions.

Like it or not, economic conditions have changed for most people in many countries. You can’t alter the state of economic affairs, but you can accept what’s happening as neither good nor bad. It’s just what’s happening. And by being aware and realistic rather than staying in a state of longing for what was, you can adjust your behaviors and goals to realistically fit current conditions.

Acceptance is not the same as resignation because resignation usually means giving up. I see acceptance as a stimulus for new actions and behaviors, and this can be downright exciting.

No Judgements
Acceptance starts with taking the judgment out of any situation. These times are not good or bad, they are what they are. What’s happening to you is not good or bad, it’s just what’s happening. What matters is how you deal with what’s happening.

It would seem relatively safe to assume that economic conditions are not going to dramatically improve for an extended period of time. That’s not good or bad, it’s just what is. The question is what actions can you take to turn this into a time of opportunity, growth, and financial stability, which may be something you’ve never had before.

This is the perfect time to learn real-world financial skills. Unless you’ve got your head totally in the sand, then you know that frugality and saving for the future are definitely in style. Gross consumerism no longer is.

If you’ve been out of work for an extended period of time or have been earning less than you did before, accepting the situation allows you to examine new income-producing pathways that you may never have considered before. Once you accept that old methods aren’t working, you can look for new ones.

Of course moving in the direction may necessitate altering habitual behaviors and accepting the discomfort of change. Don’t fight it, just roll with it.

I understand this isn’t easy for people who like to be in control or who need certainty in their lives. Learning to accept what is and act within the reality of a constant change takes time, patience, understanding, and self-acceptance.

For the last 10 months, members of the Peace of Mind & Prosperity program have been discussing and developing ways of overcoming fear and accepting what’s going on in their world. The results have been measurable, with the many of the active participants finding financial stability now.

During the 40 years that I’ve been on a spiritual self-improvement path, I’ve developed many techniques for overcoming financial difficulties and developing the real-world skills necessary to thrive in a rapidly changing world.

I consider it an honor to be able to share what I’ve learned with those on the Peace of Mind & Prosperity and prosperity program who are seriously looking for a new approach to life and finance. I hope you’ll consider joining me. Read more about the program.

If you have questions about the program, feel free to ask them via this the comment box below.

I was trying to figure out why so many more people have been asking me to help create an effective online presence rather than doing the kind of one-to-one coaching I had been doing for a long time.

It finally dawned on me that two things could be at play. First of all, a lot of people have already worked through some of the core emotional issues that had been playing out through their money. That’s a good thing.

Secondly, with the economic downturn, perhaps priorities have changed.

When everything was moving along and people were focused on getting rich, they wanted to know what was keeping them from moving beyond their habitual earning levels. Examining the emotions keeping them stuck was appropriate.

Now the priority, for many, has shifted from getting rich to survival — how to make the best with what they have and how they can protect themselves from a downturn during these uncertain times. This requires examing how to earn more without investing a lot in new infrastructure.

Read the rest of this entry »

Good article on the Huffington Post by Ben Sherwood. Click to read .

Suggestions include:

• Situation Awareness: Be aware of the situation and take action quickly
• Hug the Monster: Grab your fears and turn them into motivation.
• Eat an Elephant One Bite at a Time: Slow down. Divide unwieldy challenges into achievable tasks.
• Know Yourself.