Financial Fear

by | Sep 1, 2011

As emotions are a natural “condition” of the human experience, I invite you to look closer at the emotion most often tied to money: fear. With the markets and global economy playing on the proverbial roller coaster, again, we are called to expand our way of facing these events with new skills.  Skills that are gutsy, real, powerful – dare I say transformative?

Let’s start with an example. You have created a significant balance on your credit cards that are bearing a high interest rate. The engine on your car just blew and it will cost $1,200 to repair. Your college roommate is getting married and the expense to fully participate in the celebration is causing you conflict. This typical situation creates heavy pressure – manifested as discursive thoughts in your mind and tension in your body.

The typical pattern is to focus squarely on the thoughts in your mind to “fix” the problem. You look outside for solutions. Typical external solutions are: get another credit card, review your budget, refinance your debt, react with anger at the auto repairman, your friend, your parents … these solutions are temporary, and originate at the same level as the problems.

Einstein said many years ago that you cannot solve any problem in the same plane that it was created. Let us explore beyond conventional interpretations of Einstein’s quote, and look to a wisdom even closer to home than the ideas in our own minds.

If we stay in our thoughts trying to figure out a solution, we are staying in the same plane. To state it clearly, we are crystallizing the fear with new thoughts, ideas and concepts.  We need to incorporate all of our awareness into what is happening in the money system and our own situation. The only way to shift fear (and any emotion) is to first feel it, in the place where it arises in your body.

For most people fear resides in the belly and hands. Rather than a flowing energy, as felt in sadness or anger, it vibrates. In my experience, the vibration can be felt as  bubbling, nausea, streaming cool or throbbing hot. When I place my full attention on the sensation for a minute, it shifts and something new happens. Please note that the objective of feeling a “negative” emotion is not to get rid of it. The opportunity is to experience the emotion as a friend, a gift.  How about a friend giving you a gift, of something that you can learn?  After you have given your full attention to the body experience, there is more room around the situation – free of your concepts about how it “should” be.  This space offers you a gift of insight and allows you to view the situation differently. The fear is really a gift of clarity. And this practice is gutsy, real, and transforms you.

The only way to transform your experience and learn a lesson is to practice the inside-out move (see my MoneyMoves deck for more).  Look inside first and experience the feelings that are happening in your body. My guess is that there is fear residing under the anger and when you experience the full sensations of this emotion, you will open the door to new possibilities, new financial decisions from a new plane of awareness.

I can promise you that the financial markets and economy are changing and will continue to move – like everything else in life. Instead of trying to figure out a strategy that will create “certainty”, practice feeling the sensations of fear that are happening in your body.  See what happens with your experience over time. Pay attention to your relationship with money.  If you choose to practice feeling your fear when you are stressed about money, and you ask yourself thoughtful questions when space arises, my guess is that your insights will teach you about your limiting money beliefs and unique way of being around money. Before long, you will welcome fear as a doorway to insight, and befriend your relationship with money.