I once received an invoice from my former bookkeeper. The amount didn’t seem accurate so I contacted him to inquire about it and was shocked at his reaction.
He became defensive and said, “If you don’t trust me then perhaps it’s best that we don’t work together anymore.”
I felt instantly angry, upset and hurt. My mind kept saying things like, “This is unfair,” “He shouldn’t treat me this way.” I was surprised at my intense reaction. However, in a moment of awareness I told myself,
“Drop your story about him and just be with your feelings.” I repeated this over and over to myself because my mind kept slipping back to wanting to focus on my beliefs and judgments about him.
I experienced a breakthrough in my money mindset when I was able to completely drop my story and stay with the painful feelings that came up “around my fear of not being liked.” I realized I wanted my bookkeeper to like me and I wanted to gain his approval – just like I had wanted my mother’s approval as a young girl (even though we have an awesome relationship now).
With this insight I knew that I didn’t need my bookkeeper’s approval with my inquiry about my bill.
When I was willing to completely drop my internal story about my situation and re-focus my attention on the “content” of my experience in that moment, something opened up that created a new insight.
I believe that anyone can apply this simple approach to pretty much any situation in their business where they’re feeling emotionally reactive or stuck. Whether they’re frustrated because they don’t have enough prospects, clients or income -- this process WORKS!
“To become different than what we are, we must have some awareness of what we are.” - Eric Hoffer
Daily Reminder and Practice
Like most people, I can’t prevent my internal dialogue from occurring. It happens automatically – just like breathing.
However, when I’m feeling especially emotional or upset by a situation I can consciously choose to “drop my story” and simply be with my raw emotional experience.
I now understand that my “internal story” is an attempt to avoid feeling old painful wounds (often from early childhood).
By allowing what’s happening to happen (instead of resisting it) I can make a distinction between my story, my painful emotions and my real centered self.
By practicing becoming aware and present in the moment, I regain my clarity and capacity for getting unstuck so that I’m able to experience a shift to a more powerful money mindset. I literally become the space in which all of my life (and my business) is occurring - and not just the “stuff” and emotional reactivity that happens in that space.
Leslie Cunningham specializes in working with women entrepreneurs who experience fear and self-doubt in their ability to consistently make more money in their business. The end result that women achieve through following Leslie's advice and expertise is that they are able to permanently get off the emotional financial roller coaster ride and break into six-figures and beyond. http://impactandprofits.com/