I wasn't planning on having a New Years Resolution this year but I found myself with one accidentally when I was journalling through Susannah Conway's Unravel Your Year the first week of January. 

"I want to master money" I wrote. 

I had just received a small inheritance and I didn't want to f*ck it up. 

Money has been something that I've avoided over the years. I've accumulated and paid off debt. I've closed my eyes and hoped for the best but it was becoming clear that my relationship with money was out of integrity. 

Can you relate?

The first thing I did was to sign up for You Need A Budget (or YNAB for short). It's an online budgeting tool with free training and a perfectionist resistant approach that I can use despite my self employed variable income. It's the first budgeting approach that has made sense to my brain and that acknowledges that we're not all 9-5ers with a steady paycheque and an aptitude for money stuff. 

The second thing I did was to do work through Barbara Stanny's Overcoming Underearning book. It's a book you DO not a book you read. I wrote it in, I journaled, I walked around thinking about my relationship to money and most importantly I did (almost) all of the exercises. I still have 2 more exercises to complete but I took her seriously when I heard the advice to do every single exercise in the book. 

One of the biggest shifts that came from the book (and there have been many) has been the invitation to STRETCH. To do things that scare me or challenge me or push me out of my comfort zone. There is so much power in stretching because it's in the stretch where something can change and grow. It's not comfortable but it's satisfying .

This particular leg of my journey with money feels like it's just begun. There is still so much more to learn but I'm curious to see where it leads. 

Before this year I wasn't ready to look in these particular dark corners (we all have our dark corners) and I'm grateful that I'm ready now and thought it might be helpful to share some of the resources that I've found helpful on my journey. 

Do you have some dark corners that you're ready to peak in? Where can you stretch?
 
Big Love,
Cecilia

p.s. If you're ready to peak into your dark corners and keen to start stretching I'd love to work with you. Just contact me HERE and write “I want to set up a Clarity Call” with your phone number and we’ll set up a time to have a no pressure chat about what’s working, what’s not working and how I can help. I have room for a couple new clients and would love to work with YOU.

p.p.s. My partner Mark and I are running an Awakening the Third Eye workshop November 17 & 18 in Toronto. We've got THREE discounted early bird spots left. Find out more and register HERE. 

p.p.p.s. Yay!