Have you ever wished that you had more money? I think all of us wish it at some point in our lives! But not having enough money sucks.
One of the reasons for not having enough money that we haven’t talked about in previous emails has to do with something called under-challenging.
Our drive to do great things tends to weaken or disappear once we reach the level of mediocrity or a bit beyond that. We get comfortable with what we have. The more we experience comfort, the more complacent we get with it.
We don’t try for that promotion, push ourselves to write that book or decide to start our own business rather than working for someone else because the ‘comfort’ of our life as it is today keeps us unmotivated.
Life becomes a predictable routine. And routine ‘feels good.’
Your brain doesn’t like new and different. It can’t predict what will happen when you try new and different things, so it creates stress to warn you of the unknown when you think about changing things up.
Living the same day over and over — earning the same money, working for the same people, and doing the same kind of thing day in and day out — is chemically ‘pleasant’ to your body. It’s familiar…and your brain likes familiar.
Maybe you recognize these patterns in your life? Do you…
- Have a weekly cycle of things that are always on your calendar?
- Have friends you always vacation with?
- Have certain recipes you always make?
- Have routines for the evenings of your week?
- Search for and create schedules because, without them, you’re lost?
We fill our lives with habits — our work, how we earn money, where we work, what we do, who our co-workers are, etc. All of those are simply pleasant habits that we choose not to grow beyond – and everybody, including me, does this to a certain extent!
Why don’t we grow beyond them?
FEAR! Fear is what keeps us in our playpens.
How do you tackle fear?
You can grab it head on by the horns, or you can take it in baby steps. While there are some situations that demand you become a matador, most people have more long-term success using baby steps.
The simple truth is that if you do one new thing for at least 5 minutes each day every 2 weeks, your brain will get a lot less rigid about avoiding change. Change itself will become a habit your brain wants to keep.
Start small so that you get used to changing, but have a big goal in mind. In many ways, that’s what mindful change is all about.
Prepare for a promotion and then ask for it. Or if you’re already ready for the promotion, meet a few people in the new department to make the change less scary, and then ask or apply for the promotion.
Write a single page of your book each week. Don’t edit it or fuss with it. Just write it. Eventually, write two pages each week. And keep adding a page until you’re writing a page a day. 365 days from now, you’ll have finished your book and edited it or finished your novel and be ready to edit.
If you just can’t see any baby steps or you think maybe your particular issue requires a more direct approach, contact me at heather@mindfulchange.com or call me at 613.601.1083, and we’ll set up a 30-minute discovery session. We’ll figure it out together.
And now, let’s get to the quote of the week!
“I think the reward for conformity is that everyone likes you except yourself.”
~Rita Mae Brown
Next time we’ll explore another limiting factor with money, and I’ll introduce you to someone we’ll call Joni. She has great clients, enjoys her work, is always busy, and is extremely talented but is just barely paying her bills. Stay tuned to find out why…
Talk to you next week!
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