There’s nothing quite like a global pandemic to trigger your anxiety and cause you to feel fear about what’s going to happen in the future. With that may come to a sense of financial instability, either real or imagined. During these times, it can be particularly difficult to maintain a good perspective on our money. We may feel the tension between wanting to support the causes, small businesses, and communities that we love, and wanting to make sure that our own financial houses are in order by keeping our resources close.
In short: it’s times like these when we tend to get hit with that scarcity mindset the most… and yet, maintaining a financially abundant mindset has a lot of important benefits. It can reduce financial stress, improve morale, and allow you to maintain that there’s-enough-for-everyone mentality that promotes giving when you can truly afford to do so. As such, here are a few ways that to help you maintain your abundance mindset, even when things get stressful.
“There’s nothing quite like a global pandemic to trigger your anxiety and cause you to feel fear about what’s going to happen in the future”
— Michelle Waymire – The Young Scrappy
Know Your Numbers
During times of stress, it can be extremely tempting to hide from what’s going on. Avoidance behaviors around checking up on our money and opening credit card statements only increases when we feel we have a lot to lose. As such, I recommend you simply start by making sure you know where you’re at and how you might be impacted. Figure out whether your job or income might take a hit due to COVID-19, but also identify any areas where expenses can be comfortably cut or modified due to this “new normal.”
Focus On What You Can Control
Nowadays, it feels like a lot of things are out of our hands, and that can be scary. However, I believe that focusing on what you can control, specifically the choices you’re able to make surrounding your money, can keep you feeling empowered and connected with your finances. Remember, it’s not about cutting out everything that brings you joy; it’s about making a proactive choice as needed to increase or reduce certain areas of your budget. At the end of the day, you are in control of where your money goes, so allow yourself to feel the sense of empowerment that comes with that.
Stay In A Space of Gratitude
When it comes to our money, we tend to focus on the things that we wish we could have or that we are missing. But at the same time, we tend to ignore all of the abundance that already surrounds us. I don’t know about you, but the fact that I can still brush my teeth, flush my toilet, connect with friends and clients over video conference, and get my daily caloric needs met comfortably feels like an absolute blessing. There are a million reasons to say thank you to the universe, if you take the time to look around and find them.
Infuse Your Financial Rituals With Pleasure.
Image: Young Gentry
Many of us find managing our money to be difficult, stressful, or anxiety-inducing. However, your relationship with money is just that: a relationship! As such, you get to decide how you want to come to the table when interacting with your money. You get to decide how you think and feel about money, how much quality time you give it, and whether that relationship is something you’re proud of. I encourage you to allow yourself to have fun with it! Carve out time in your schedule for periodic check ins about your finances. Honor of those calendar events just as you would time scheduled with a trusted friend. Let yourself enjoy that time by infusing it with whatever you have on hand that brings you joy. This might include working in your favorite spot at home, pouring your favorite beverage, lighting a candle, putting on your comfiest or most decadent clothes, and generally turning your money work into an occasion that you can feel good about.
Watch Your Intake of News, Especially Financial News
With so much unfolding day by day, staying in tune can be an important part of staying safe. However, it is common to over-consume the news during times like these. Our desire to stay informed slowly turns into something that brings us unnecessary stress and anxiety, especially when it comes to the economy, the financial markets, or anecdotes about those particularly impacted by the situation. I would encourage you to draw the line about which news consumption keeps you informed, and which keeps you in a state of fear, then set some boundaries that allow you to honor your need for information without swimming in an anxiety pit. This way, as you are working on your abundance mindset, you don’t have a constant stream of negative information undoing your good work.
I’ll leave you with this parting thought: at the end of the day, money mindset work is mental health work. It keeps you feeling focused on your goals and excited about the future even when it feels like things are falling down around you. So get clear on where you’re at, get comfortable managing your money, and focus on what you can control, and you’re well on your way to set the groundwork for solid financial decisions that balance your need for financial self-care with giving back to those in need.
