I have an ingenious way of working out whether you might have a fear issue around money.
Picture yourself standing in front of an ATM machine.
You have deposited money into your account and are certain that you have funds to withdraw.
However the bank has made an error and your account has been frozen. You go to make a withdrawal of $100 cash and the machine comes back and says “Insufficient funds.”
What goes through your head?
What emotions are running in your body?
When I went through this role play FEAR was the overriding emotion!
When FEAR is strong it can have a paralysing effect as well.
I would probably have stood there not believing it was true and unable to do something about it immediately.
Although this is an exaggerated exercise everyone at times has fear enter their world through uncertain circumstances.
Maybe it’s about putting up prices?
Maybe it’s about losing a contract?
Maybe it’s about losing a valued employee?
At the bottom of these situations is often a negative financial situation and as a result the lack of money can bring fear into your world.
The antidote to this is realising that the world isn’t coming to an end as a result; even if it feels like it.
Having an overall sense of your business health and how the financial part works will bring a higher degree of certainty to your situation and with that you can be more future confident.
These situations then become mere bumps on the road to success.
Fear is truly powerful. It takes a lot of courage to look fear in they eye. However, one must focus on the solution despite the paralysis of fear.
If one can do this he becomes powerful. Many has suffered because of fear. But if we understand what fear is, then we will be liberated from its shackles.