When life is hard, we tend to become very practical to make ends meet. We embrace frugality to the point that we say no to everything we want so we stay on budget. I have been to that same place before and it was no fun. I was very tight about money to ensure our finances don’t fall apart, but it only led me to a state of deeper lack and scarcity.
Is practicality a good thing? For sure! But how practical is “too practical”?
This is where the Prosperity Exercise can help you. You can flow through life without losing financial control and without losing that critical sense of prosperity. As I always say, the struggle is not necessary. It’s a life-changing exercise, I promise!
I’ve Been There and It Was Not Fun
There came a time when our family had no income streaming in. Life was tough and I knew I had to be very vigilant about how we spend money. I eventually created the “summer of no fun” – and I was the fun police.
We would not eat out and we would never have meat unless it was ground turkey for spaghetti. We would have pancakes and waffles five times a week and it was just the same bland, boring day everyday of that summer. I never brought my kids with us when we did groceries because bringing them always meant we’d spend double upon checkout! I was so uptight that I didn’t even let my husband get the chocolate-coated almonds we used to enjoy with the whole family.
Let’s just say that when life was tough, I made it seem worse to myself and my family. I was in so much fear that I let money dominate every second of how I run my family.
A Perspective Shift
Because I was on the extreme side of being prudent, our finances seemed to fall into place the next month. The next day we went out for groceries, my husband finally asked for those chocolate-covered almonds again. I gave him my reluctant permission to get the tiniest bag and checked out.
I was mumbling my way as I was so sure the almonds would be an additional cost to our budget. So therefore, it’s going to set us back financially again somehow! And you know what?
I was right and wrong.
Of course, the almonds were an added cost. But they were only a dollar and eighty! How was that tiny amount going to cause a dent in our finances? Did I really deny my family a delicious treat for such an irrelevant amount of money? I was flushed and embarrassed to the core.
It’s normal to turn on the frugality button in such circumstances, but I didn’t know back then that I did not have to let my family suffer that way!
Why Struggle When You Don’t Have To
I decided never to rob myself and my family of the little joys in life anymore. We could have had a fantastic experience throughout the summer by just sitting down, watching a movie, and munching on those heavenly almonds! The little things in life bind us together and I denied them that.
At that point, I had not created the Prosperity Approach yet but we named the treats “prosperity almonds.” We looked forward to eating them every week and just savoring them together!
We were still in that hard place in our finances. Still, the prosperity almonds made us look forward to something exciting along the way. These sweet little treats made us feel rich for a moment even though our bank accounts say we’re still poor. It was a beautiful reminder that we are still blessed!
Money Magnifies You
I know I talk about wealth, prosperity, and making good decisions about money – but money is not the only element we’re talking about here. Prosperity encompasses so much more than just money. I know a lot of wealthy people who live in a life of lack and scarcity.
But money is a powerful tool – it is a magnifier of who you already are. It creates more options and opens doors. It’s simply no wonder why people want more of it! But remember that prosperity does not only mean having money because prosperity is all about how you feel about what you already have at the moment!
You Gotta Stop and Smell the Roses
We started with almonds, and we eventually turned to flowers. I’m sure it’s common to think that flowers are beautiful but a total waste of money. For years, my husband would ask me if he could buy me flowers. The answer was always a no.
I’d steep on the fact that they were so expensive because I was always afraid to let go of money. But as my wealth consciousness grew, I began looking at the flowers in Costco. I started admitting how much I really appreciated them. And so we created a new habit of buying flowers each time we would go to Costco and it felt right.
Flowers are always expensive and that is precisely the point! A bunch of blooms will cost us a few bucks but they aren’t going to drain our finances. What it did for us was it connected us to that feeling of prosperity. It reminded us that we were okay, that we were in a better place than we think. If these beautiful flowers erased all the resentment and fear in my heart – would I really mind spending a few dollars for it? Never!
The Prosperity Exercise
I have to warn you – this is a surprisingly challenging exercise to do. We are so used to denying what we want for the sake of practicality. We say no to what we want almost by default – and all this fear is so effective in holding us back.
The exercise is this: Think of something you want but never get for yourself because they’re “not practical.” A great example is a client I had years back. She was currently living a life of lack and I asked her what she never bought for herself at the grocery store. A quick answer from her was “branded shampoo.”
I gave her the assignment to buy a branded shampoo for herself but you wouldn’t believe how it triggered her. She expressed enormous resistance to the idea because of how they could not make ends meet at the time. It was how she thought she could relate to money effectively.
It shows that all of us have a certain boundary to set, and if you feel the same kind of resistance, it’s okay. Remember that this exercise requires you to get something that would not damage your budget so much.
But remember, the intention you have behind this is to connect you to prosperity. It’s connecting you to the feeling of wealth. That rope is different for all of us. It could be in the form of chocolate-covered almonds, flowers, branded shampoo, or a shower gel with a scent that reminds you of a happy memory.
So it’s not about how much money you spend. It’s about the feeling that you have any experience you have when you’re connected to it. It is an enormously powerful exercise that will help shift you out of lack and scarcity and connect you with prosperity and abundance.
Be Intentional On Your Way to Prosperity
Permit yourself to want what it is you want and have that great intention. This is not about being materialistic. This is not about throwing a tantrum so that you get what you want. It is a very deliberate and intentional way to grow your wealth consciousness.
Stay connected to that higher frequency of expansion, joy and prosperity. Whatever wealth looks and feels like to you, go for it. But do not ever delve into purchases that you can never pay for because it would only negate the purpose of this exercise.
Don’t use this inner game strategy as an excuse to get a fancy car you don’t know how to pay for. The goal is not to drain your finances, so start where you are, not where you want to be. The goal is to tether you to prosperity and make the journey feel much lighter and easier!
I would love to hear what your prosperity almonds are and what you have chosen as your symbolism. What symbolizes to you that you live in prosperity and that you are wealthy? Let me know because there’s a whole community who wants to hear and talk about it!
Additional resources
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