The other day, something made me open O Magazine and check out Suze Orman's column. (That good old reliable intuition!) Suze made a wonderful statement: how you treat your money is how you treat yourself.
Think about that for a moment. The notion really stopped me dead in my tracks, because what it all boiled down to was energy. My lifelong habit has been to spend money freely, sometimes downright carelessly. And when I looked at my life, I realized with a jolt that I've been spending my energy freely, and sometimes downright carelessly.
In the back of my mind I've had this long, fat Dream To-Do List much of which has been ripening for a very long time. Meanwhile, I'm so busy I literally can't cram another thing into my life.
The connection one can make is that if you spew energy in too many directions, instead of choosing wisely and carefully, you'll begin to rack up an Energy Debt. And just like a financial one, it will drain you of your natural vitality as you worry about it,
On the other hand, maybe you hoard your money, and so are "stingy" with yourself when it comes to embarking on your dreams and things you really want to do in life. Or perhaps you are always in drama about money, and so are always facing some dramatic consequence when it comes to creating the life you want and need. Perhaps you're scared of money, and so may be scared of what you can create.
All of this pushes us towards a larger realization, which is that we need to dedicate ourselves, simply and wholly, to what author Cheryl Richardson calls our "Yes List". This is the list of ten or twenty things we deeply wish to make happen in our life; our most important tasks that come directly from our Soul Purpose in life. An easy way to make this list is just to get clear on 10 things you know, in your gut, you must make happen before you die.
Once you have that list, keep it nearby. And look at how you go about accomplishing each item. Are you holding back from even beginning it? Or are you having trouble fitting these truly important items into a daily agenda littered with less important tasks? Can you just get on with it, simply, directly?
Please do keep in mind that getting to the items on that list may mean making sacrifices; it may mean "spending" your energy more wisely. For instance, if I want to develop the show I keep thinking about writing, I have to give up performing with my beloved local theater group. Another example might be giving up a friendship with someone who can't support your dream, or giving up the security of a day job that deadens your soul but pays the bills.
Only when we climb out of the safety zone that has been comfortably nurturing us for so long, and move on to the next level, do we make serious progress on our dreams. Cheryl Richardson wisely calls this, "Giving up good to get to great". I love that, because then your sacrifice isn't just about fear and pain; it's about possibility and authenticity.
Just how are you treating yourself these days, and what can you give up to "get to great"? I encourage you to spend your energy wisely, and buy yourself a wonderful, soul-enriching dream -- a gift for yourself, and the world.
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