Although uncomfortable, anxiety can motivate constructive action. And by taking that action, we lessen our anxiety while improving our situation. Fueled with Love, Respect, Curiosity, Compassion and Gratitude, here are a few proactive strategies for reducing your money stress:
1: Take responsibility. When you make a less than optimal financial choice, embrace it with Love and Respect, knowing you did the best you could with the Wisdom you had at that time. Be Curious about what led to your decision and why you might choose differently in the future. Demonstrate Compassion by completely detaching from any sense of fear and self-loathing. Responsibility moves you forward. Fear and shame hold you back. Be Grateful for the opportunity to learn and grow.
2: Take action. Assess your situation with Respect and Curiosity, taking any corrective action still possible to mitigate the damage, such as negotiating with creditors or seeking other sources of income. Be Grateful for the opportunity to learn and grow.
3: Find pleasures you can afford. When reducing expenses, don’t cut to the bone. A forced sense of deprivation will make it even harder to stick to your more responsible spending plan. Eliminating all forms of joy can reintroduce scarcity, and anxiety, in response to which many fall right back into the arms of “shopping therapy” which puts you right back onto the money madness hamster wheel. Be Creative in finding affordable joys with which to permeate your Life. Be Grateful for all of your current non-financial assets and leverage them to get the greatest possible return on all of the Abundance already in your possession. A fabulous singing voice, close friends, beloved animal companions, good books, great music, a walk in the park, a drive by the sea.
4: Increase your money wisdom. Be Curious and eager to learn. Seek support and education in coaching, Debtors Anonymous and books on smart financial management.
5: Be patient with yourself. It takes time to get used to diminished circumstances. Accept your feelings with Love, Respect and Compassion and reassure yourself that Life will get easier as you continue to learn and grow over time.
6: Cultivate Gratitude and circulation. When fear and a sense of lack arise, stop and name five things you are Grateful for and find something you can share with others. It may be just one dollar for a homeless person. Or it may not involve money at all. It may be a smile for everyone you meet. Taking time to notice and compliment a helpful sales clerk or a well-behaved child. Appreciate and celebrate all of the good in your Life. Beginning and ending each day by naming at least five things for which you are Grateful is a powerful Gratitude Practice that fosters a sense of Abundance, despite your external circumstances.
7: Hydrate. Warm baths and hot tubs can soothe the nervous system. Water fosters flow. Drink it, bathe in it, go for a swim, even cry. Water helps flush toxins from your system.
8: Work it out. Exercise, yoga and meditation all help reduce stress and increase clarity.
9: Spend time with people who are supportive. Confiding in people who encourage and soothe, rather than fostering doom and gloom, can go a long way to decreasing your anxiety. A peaceful friend, a Professional Life Coach.
10: Get medical help, if needed. If your anxiety is debilitating and interfering with your ability to function day-to-day, see your doctor.
Author’s content adapted under license, © 2008 Claire Communications
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About djwlifecoach
I am retired from 40+ years of helping individuals and teams build lives and organizations they love. One of the great joys of my retirement from professional practice is having greater bandwidth to donate my professional and creative talents to support and promote animal and social welfare charities.
During my 30 years as an organization transformation consultant, I served as a senior partner in four of the world’s largest, most prestigious global professional services firms. In 2005, I took a five-year sabbatical to find healing and peace because non-stop work had taken its toll.
My recovery from burnout led to finding my purpose guiding others on their journeys. As a board-certified coach, author, consultant, radio host, Reiki Master and EFT/tapping practitioner, I share hope, possibilities and empowerment with the world.
111419 DJW Sid CH Pet Corner Photo ShootI help clients achieve rapid, extraordinary, sustainable results by connecting who they are with what they do, a connection often lost through stress and the sheer busy-ness of daily life. Courageous self-awareness and unconditional self-love lead to honest choices based on priorities that nurture you and those around you on a journey to wholeness.
Decades in coaching, consulting, change management, organization development, human resources and mixed media artistic expression honed my business sense, professionalism, creativity, intuition, leadership and communication skills. The result? Practical tools that help you become more insightful, creative, committed, productive and fulfilled.
Even the most dedicated and hard-working individuals can shift from frustration to a sense of futility when their values, passion, work, and lives become disconnected. One of the problems with not taking care of our health is that the effects of ignoring it are often slow to show up. We continue to juggle family responsibilities, work and finances until we lose ourselves, waking up one day 50 pounds heavier in body and soul—no good to ourselves or anyone else.
I love working with people who are ready to take life-changing action to make their dreams a reality. At each moment, you have inside you all the wisdom you seek to choose your life and your way of showing up. Limiting thoughts, beliefs and feelings can block you from moving forward. An absence of love and concern for yourself can result in negative head talk that holds you back with discouraging messages about who you are and what you can do.
By listening and caring deeply, I guide you in connecting with your own inner wisdom. We identify the way you’d like to live. We determine what’s blocking you and release you from the hold those blocks have over you—unleashing the positive energy that will fuel you forward. Together we develop a plan to move you closer to your heart’s desire.
My books, blog, radio show and signature coaching programs help individuals and organizations harness the transformative energy of love to turn unexplored possibilities into fulfilling realities and step into their greatness. What’s love got to do with it? Everything! My book, Choose Your Energy: Change Your Life! (Hay House/ Balboa Press 2013) shares my story and the stories of 10 of my clients along with my signature Discovery Framework.
For fun, I love reading, sewing, knitting, yin yoga, afternoon tea, opera and movies. I live in Williamsburg, Virginia with my spouse, Wilson Abney, and the cat who runs our life, Maisy Jane.
Although uncomfortable, anxiety can motivate constructive action. And by taking that action, we lessen our anxiety while improving our situation. Fueled with Love, Respect, Curiosity, Compassion and Gratitude, here are a few proactive strategies for reducing your money stress: 
Choose Your Energy: Change Your Life! 