It comes as no surprise that for most of us, thoughts of finances, wealth and money are part of a daily routine. At one point or another, money does seem to be the focus of each day. It may have to do with a bill you are paying, an item you are buying, the paycheck you are receiving or whatever else the case scenario may be. And at all those numerous times, we have a choice of how we are going to declare ourselves to the Universe.

Do you receive your paycheck and focus on how much bigger it should be or how grateful you are for the money coming in?

Do you leave a store thinking that things are just too expensive today or grateful for the variety of things that you can buy?

Do you pay your bills with dread, thinking “here we go, another bill”, or are you grateful for the services you are receiving?

These are I feel, important questions, and ones that I have been reflecting on myself for the past few years, as our answers to them can ultimately determine the state of our financial abundance.

To explain this further, I want to share with you, how true financial abundance is about what is in your mind, not your bank account.

Personal Story

As I begin to share with you my personal story, I have to tell you that what tugs on my heart and mind as I write this, in the most positive of ways, is how we as beings are so capable of magnificent change. I am absolutely speechless and humbled so many times at how a person can change their way of life, when one looks back. Of course, I cannot talk for others, so here I speak for myself.

So here goes the short version of my story. Since I was a student in high school, like many other people, I had part time jobs. These are usually our first experiences with our own money. After I graduated from all formal schooling, I immediately jumped into a good career/job, which provided me with not only a very stable and regular paycheck, but one that also kept increasing each year, and well at that.

During about half of those years, I was single and had relatively no bills to pay or anything else financially speaking to worry about. And yet, those were the years where I would drive between a few stores to get the best “deal”, every penny was accounted for and I could not fathom not buying something on sale. I did not feel comfortable “going out for dinners” and always tried to maximize the best value from everything. Now one might say, “good for me, for living such a thrifty lifestyle,” but looking back, I beg to differ.

And it was not that I stressed or worried about money – no not really – this was just how I thought life was. From a distance, someone who saw all that I had or experienced, would probably not think that this girl was holding anything back. I did enjoy great trips on a yearly basis and for the most part didn’t feel like I was lacking anything. But wasn’t I? Did I really feel abundant? Did I feel prosperous? Was my mind geared for financial abundance? Heck no!

While perhaps I did not worry and stress the way some people do, I was living with extreme limits – limits that I of course put on myself, conditioned by both family and society. Is that a good way to live? I would say of course not. Looking back, I definitely learned today that being smart about money and feeling abundant about money, are two very different things. One can be very smart in how they handle their money, with very few feelings of abundance in between.

It was those years, that financially speaking I was perhaps able to have the most, and yet lived very confined, like I was only able to have the least. Although compared to my friends per se at that time, I was “rich”, I definitely did not feel like that. The focus was to save and I had to watch every penny. Not only that, like most other people, I believed money was scarce and one generally speaking had to work hard for it. Only the minority had “lucky” breaks, that made them “rich”.

Looking back I shake my head….not in negativity but in awe. The funny thing too is, don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t that I even wanted to be rich. Because again, like most people, I had the mindset that money corrupts you and why would I need “all that money” anyway.

So, let’s fast forward to today. My life with my husband today is set up for two incomes, yet despite this, as of June there is only one. And here is the even better part. Despite this, today I do go out freely, don’t nickel and dime and don’t look for coupons. I feel quite amazing when it comes to money actually.

Do I feel completely free? No not yet – to tell you otherwise would be a lie, as I do have about 25 years of conditioning to undo, so I still have some growth to do when it comes to this area. But I am living happier than ever. When I think about money today, it is with the utmost feeling of gratitude and abundance – not a lack of. I also know that at any time, if I really, really want something, the only thing stopping me from having it, is me – not the amount of money I have.

So what changed to make me feel this way? The amount of money? Well definitely not, for it would follow that I should feel worse, the less I have, but this is not the case today.

What changed is me – my thoughts, my feelings, my paradigms and my relationship with money all changed. And I cannot tell you how tremendously this has benefited me. Today I live with amazing and increasing freedom when it comes to money. I also have a pretty healthy relationship with it, I might add. (Having said the above though, let me just say that this does not mean I live extravagantly, as I truly stand by a simple and sustainable way of life and do not take pleasure in wasting the Earth’s resources – as I mention in “Our Obsession with MORE.“)

Not only that, today I believe that money does come easy – it is just as easy to make a dollar as it is to make a million dollars (legally) - it just all depends on what you perceive to be possible! Likewise, there is enough money to go around many times over for everyone, and everyone is capable of financial abundance.

But bottom line, today I can definitely attest, that financial abundance truly comes from what is in our mind, not what is in our bank account.

Conclusion

It is quite amazing to look at my life today and see how my beliefs and thoughts about money have changed. I think about how abundant I am and how grateful I am for all the money in my life right now, rather than any lack of it. At a time when I could focus most on lack of, there is only gratitude and joy on that front.

As for my example above, I hope it inspires you in some way to free yourself from limiting thoughts and beliefs about money. Though it is a rather modest example when you consider what so many people today are capable of achieving when it comes to living simply, yet abundantly.

So before you go to check your bank account balance next, I invite you to re-examine the relationship you have with money and what beliefs you hold about it in your mind. Is it a relationship based on lack, or based on abundance? Knowing what I know today, I realize this is so important as it is what is in our mind, not in our bank account that will truly determine the quality of our life.