Have You Ever Wanted to QUIT the Money Game?
(And Seven Reasons to Love Your Money.)
For decades, I have turned down every invitation to play baseball or softball. I can hardly think of anything I’d rather do LESS. I can’t bat, I can’t pitch, and I can’t catch. Worse, I instinctively dodge all flying objects—the result of being forced to play dodge ball in the 2nd and 3rd grade—so no one wants me on their team anyways.
I have a friend who vanishes every time her husband’s family suggests a game of charades. His family thinks improvisation is fun. She hates improv games. So far, she has successfully steered clear of the dreaded family-in-law ritual.
The so-called Money Game is different, because it’s a game you can’t opt out of. Not if you are an adult in this society. Even if you are a student or a housewife or living off the grid, you still have expenses and you still need money.
But what happens when you feel like you are losing the Money Game?
Perhaps you have an investment that crashed and burned. Maybe you haven’t saved. Your income isn’t what you’d like it to be, you purchased a home that lost value, or you’re deep in debt.
Whatever the situation, you feel like you are losing at a game you cannot quit, avoid, or opt out of. Ugh!
But what if you could adopt a different metaphor? What if you could see the situation—and yourself—through different eyes?
I look at money not as a game that I can “win” or “lose.” Nor do I see it as a game played by “winners” or “losers.”
I see money as a tool for transformation.
We tend to see money as a way to “keep score,” perhaps in the materialistic “the-one-who-dies-with-the-most-toys-wins” sense.
I’m not very interested in playing that game. (But that’s not what I mean.)
Financial Planning asks, “What is your net worth?” (A good thing to track, although your cash flow is at least as important.)
But that’s not what I’m talking about either.
Financial Transformation asks, “What are you learning?”
I believe we are here on earth to learn… to love, to grow, to evolve in some way.
What if money was here to teach us and help us grow? What if we could see it through more welcoming, less resistant eyes?
Many people have learned to listen to their body for wisdom. If they feel sick or tired, they wonder what might their body might be telling them.
Similarly, we gain wisdom through our relationships… through our work… through our spirituality. Sometimes we pay attention, and sometimes we pay with pain. But every area of our lives can be a transforming experience.
What could money teach us about discipline and self-awareness? How might money help us clarify our values and priorities? How has money challenged you to work harder, reach higher, or abandon your comfort zone? If we let it, what could money teach us about forgiving others—or ourselves?
It might be easy to look at your meditation practice or your triathlon training as an invitation for transformation. But money!? Seriously!?
After all, there are enormous problems with our financial system and the banks that control it. The system is fundamentally broken—riddled with greed and corruption.
The impact of money can be devastating on a personal level, as well. Families are divided by dollars. Much pain comes from our collective relationship with money—and our lack of consciousness around it. There are, objectively, financial “winners” and “losers.”
In all areas of life, everywhere you look, there is the appearance of good and bad, light and darkness. There who are those with health, and those without it. People surrounded by love, and those who are lonely. Results we like, and those we don’t.
We can learn from it all.
Have you ever wondered, “What is the purpose of money?” (I mean, besides paying bills!) I don’t believe money exists to be a thorn in our side or a problem to be overcome. If our purpose is to grow and learn, then money can serve us and teach us… if we let it.
Which leads me to the seven reasons I love money:
#1: Money can teach us how to embrace ourselves with compassion. We can love and accept ourselves in spite of the mistakes we’ve made with money.
#2: Money can help us prioritize what is important to us. It can teach us discipline, consistent habits and the value of delayed gratification. We learn that we can’t have everything we want, but we can save for the things we desire most.
#3: Money can reflect the value we are providing to others. It can challenge us to do more, be more, and give more. It can push us to break through our own limiting beliefs.
#4: Money can teach us to be grateful for what we have. We can celebrate the good that we enjoy, no matter how simple or luxurious it may appear to outside eyes. We can be thankful and celebrate that our needs—and often much more—have been met.
#5: Money teaches us how to be creative in the face of challenges. Prosperity goes far beyond dollars and cents. Our abundance is measured in many ways. We have many different kinds of “capital,” and yes— sometimes social, intellectual or relationship capital are exchanged for actual dollars!
#6: Money can teach us generosity. For centuries, spiritual traditions have taught tithing and giving. The Abrahamic religions teach us Jehovah Jireh—“The LORD will provide.” We learn that even when we fear there is not enough, there is still something that we can contribute to others. Through giving, we pool resources and participate in movements that are bigger than ourselves. We can stand amazed at the good that our gifts of money can do. And we can learn to trust the ebb and the flow… to give and receive in a never-ending flow.
#7: Money helps us grow up. As children, we want what we want “now”– even if it is somebody else’s! As we grow, we learn that we can give value and earn money through helping someone else.
As we transition into adulthood, our focus moves from our immediate wants to our responsibilities. We become financially independent. Eventually, we may become responsible for others as well.
As we grow older and desire to one day retire or transition beyond our work or career, we learn to save more and prepare for the future. As we age and our children have children, we discover our focus has shifted all the way from the immediate to the generational. We discover we can leave a legacy… not only a monetary one, but also a legacy of values and wisdom.
Opting Out of the Money Game
If you have ever fantasized that your money troubles could somehow vanish with a winning lottery ticket or an unexpected inheritance from a wealthy uncle, this is for you.
You can’t opt out of the Money Game. (You could become a monk, but even monasteries have to support themselves!)
But how you PLAY the Money Game is up to you.
I suggest you play for the BIG win. Play for “Plenty.”
Play with the conviction that you are enough… that you have enough – not because you are entitled to it, but because you are inherently worthy.
Play to your strengths. Play the game of creating value for others. Play the game of giving and receiving, and giving again.
“Money doesn’t come to you… it flows through you.” I’ve heard a version of that statement from both best-selling author Robert Allen and Joshua Bloom of the Quantum Healing Center. Wherever it originates, it represents a deep truth. We give from the bounty we receive in a never-ending cycle.
Play the game of Prosperity. Play the game of coming to know yourself as a powerful and abundant being.
Play the game of “enough”—for you and for everyone.
That is a game worth playing.
Anything can be a tool for Transformation.
Your yoga practice. Her morning pages. His martial arts dojo. Our relationships. A great loss and the subsequent process of healing.
Money is no different. If we resist the lessons that it brings, we will learn with pain. If we idolize it, chase it and value it above love and honor, it will bring grief. If we are willing to grow and learn from money, it can help us become more than we were. If we embrace it with discipline and generosity, it becomes a blessing to ourselves and others.
The Money Game isn’t always easy. Sometimes, the month lasts longer than the money. Sometimes, we make painful mistakes. Sometimes, we do the “right” thing, but get a “wrong” result. (Scarcity runs deep in the collective consciousness, and we are skilled at creating recessions, stock market crashes, and other drama.)
Let’s play anyway.
Play the Money Game with an open heart and mind. With self-awareness and curiosity.
Play for Plenty.
Play it with me!
In late June 2021, I’ll be leading the “ReWrite My Money Story” course again. If YOU are longing for FINANCIAL TRANSFORMATION, this is for you!
We can live powerfully—even in the face of financial challenges. We can overcome financial fear and frustration to create a life characterized by peace and prosperity.
If YOU would like to play a prosperous new game with money, let’s stay in touch! Sign up for my 22-page guide, Break Through to Abundance ebook and you’ll be notified when registration opens.
I can’t wait to play with you!
Sincerely,
Kate Phillips, Total Wealth
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