Working on Your Money Beliefs: Are You Looking for Prosperity in All the Wrong Places?
by Molly Gordon, MCC

Have you ever had a friend who always seemed to date the wrong people? It happens when we confuse values and standards. If we aren't paying attention, our standards -- for looks or prestige, for example -- may be keeping us from seeing the person who fits our values.

When your standards don't match your values or vision, the harder you look for what you want in all the wrong places. The same thing can happen in your relationship with money. You start out with good intentions, only to find yourself operating according to standards that don't fit. Maybe you try too hard, or maybe you don't try hard enough. Either way, you end up feeling bad about yourself and your relationship with money.
		Who is this woman?

If you get down on yourself or try to muscle your money beliefs or behavior into line, it just gets worse. The financial conflict gets turned inward, and now you are at war with yourself. With friends like this, who needs enemies? As long as you argue with, resent, or reject your current experience, it keeps biting you.

When you finally stop fighting what is, things change. The thing is, you're exhausted and you have messes to clean up. (War is like that.) It's enough to make a person crazy.

Thankfully, we can change our money beliefs and get to acceptance before losing heart. Find out how you can bring healing acceptance into your financial life, in The Four Pillars of Acceptance.

The Four Pillars of Acceptance
Acceptance is the foundation for all creative action. Acceptance is finding the "you are here" place on the map so you can move toward your goal. There's simply no way to move forward if you don't start from where you are.

The first pillar of acceptance is humility. Humility and its close relative humor exert a homeopathic influence: a dose of humility and humor averts humiliation. It's a whole lot easier to accept where you are with this pillar in place.

The second pillar of acceptance is wonder. Wonder endows the capacity to receive support from unexpected sources. When you accept what is with a sense of wonder, it is much easier to surrender control – which you don't have anyway – and invite synchronicity, serendipity, and happy accident.

The third pillar of acceptance is willingness. Each time you set aside your own script in favor of reality and summon the willingness to cooperate with what is, rather than fight it, you are storing up energy, building momentum. With the pillar of willingness in place, acceptance shifts your orientation from resignation and resentment to what is possible.

The fourth pillar of acceptance is desire. Ah, desire! When you tune into your deepest and truest desires and allow yourself to experience your longing while accepting current reality, you complete a circuit. Your acceptance is now the firm foundation from which you can move forward.

Gratitude Practice with the Four Pillars
Gratitude can pave the way to acceptance like nothing else can. Take a full, easy breath as you name things for which you are grateful under each pillar. Ask your body to show you what it feels like to experience that gratitude. Savor the experience.

Humility: Name three things you are grateful for that you did not earn or get for yourself. (Examples: health, children, nature.)

Wonder: Name three things you are grateful for that you do not control. (Examples: electricity, art, the color blue.)

Willingness: Name three personal traits you are grateful for. (Examples: sense of humor, ambition, loyalty.)

Desire: Name three things you have wanted that have come to you. (Examples: a spouse, a garden, season tickets to the theater.)

Drop me a line and let me know what you discover as you practice acceptance through gratitude and the four pillars. Send your reflections to letters@authenticpromotion.com. If you prefer that I not quote you, just say so.

Molly