If I think back on my life, the trouble started when I graduated college. That’s when I became lost.
You see, ever since I was a kid, I loved to write. I wanted to be very good at writing, I mean, really good. So when I went to college, I chose to major in English Literature without a moment’s contemplation.
But when I graduated college, life became more complicated. Well meaning people-- parents, older friends, society—told me that making a living by writing would be hard. It’d be like drilling a hole in a random place on the ground and hitting oil. It’s not only something that’s very impossible, but is granted only to the chosen few who were picked by god himself to hold the rarest talent.
Do you think you’re that talented? They asked.
And because I was bright-eyed and naïve, and because I was so new to the adult world, I gave more weight to other people’s words than my own and lowered my goal to one that was more “practical,” even if it went against my heart.
So what did I do? I became a public school teacher.
If you had an English Literature degree, being an English teacher was the most realistic way of providing for yourself. So I was told, that is.
The only problem was that I hated it. I hated it so much that I would go straight to sleep right after work, just to escape reality.
Suffice to say, I didn’t last long there. Let’s face it, you can fight the way you feel only so much before you need to do something about it. Having reached that point, I did something about it and quit. And with that, I hit a financial funk.
I tried being “realistic” and “practical” and tried to make a living with teaching, but the end result wasn’t good. My heart just wasn’t in it. You see, your heart is where your soul speaks to you, so if you disregard your heart when making decisions, it’s like taking your soul out of your decision.
I wish I can say that, at that point, I learned my lesson and found a job that aligned with both my head and my heart. But nope, the genius that I am, I had to relearn that lesson several times before it completely sunk in. For years after, I continued to work at “realistic” jobs, which all ended in disappointingly similar outcome.
The problem with setting intentions solely with my head was that I could never last long at a job. Once the newness of the job wore off, I’d progressively grow more and more frustrated and miserable. And at last, I eventually left.
To be completely honest, this has been a pattern of mine that I struggled with for a good part of my twenties and thirties. And I know I’m not without company.
If you’re wondering why you’re in a financial funk…
If you’re wondering why you’re in a financial funk, you might want to look into how you’re setting intentions day to day.
So many people go through financial funk when they make the mistake of setting intentions that are misaligned with who they are at the soul level. They set intentions solely based on their mind, which for the most part, is based on fear.
If you set intentions solely with your mind rather than with your whole being (i.e. your mind, heart, and body), you won’t manifest your desires easily. And if you do somehow will your desires into manifesting, those manifestations would only last temporarily. You won’t be able to keep what you manifest.
If you somehow by sheer will manage to manifest your way out of a financial funk by solely using your mind, then you’d most likely experience financial funk yet again.
The problem with setting intentions with your head
As I was saying, the problem with setting intentions with your head while disregarding your heart is that you won’t be able to hold onto what you manifest for long. It’ll be temporary, before it starts slipping from your grip.
For example, have you ever met anyone who became successful at doing the very thing they hate? I’m not talking about one time success, but a more permanent sort of success. No, you won’t see too many people like that. There might be rare exceptions where people used sheer will to gain success at what they hate, but even then, the minute they stop pumping blood dripping sweat and tears into it, it’ll all fall apart.
As it was with me, you might pursue a job you don’t necessarily like because it pays the bills, but even if you get it, you won’t be able to stay long in it.
Even if you manage to somehow force yourself into listening to your “practical” and logical head, disregarding your heart for a long time will cause you to become an unhappy person, which in turn will cause emotional and psychological issues. It’s not a coincidence that so many people today suffer with mental issues such as OCD, anxiety and panic attacks, and emotional issues such as depression and anger.
And if this goes on too long, your physical health might suffer as well. There are countless studies done that support what we’ve only known intuitively, that unhappy people suffer more physical ailments than happy people. (Read: Harvard Health Publishing)
If you decide with your head alone, then your whole being is not going to be on board with your decision. And parts of you will revolt.
You cannot force your soul and wield it to your liking, not for very long anyhow.
“Maybe I can force my heart to listen to my head.”
If you’re thinking that you could force your heart (or soul) to listen to your head, well, good luck with that.
Observe kids for as little as thirty minutes, and you’ll instantly understand that you can’t talk kids into doing anything that they are not in alignment with, no matter how good or convincing your argument is. You can use physical force, but even then, you’ll pay for it because there’ll be screams, tantrums, and pouting. Worst case scenario, you’ll leave a scar in their psyche.
That’s because kids are all soul and very little head.
Your soul is obstinate as kids are. You can’t rationalize your soul into doing what it doesn’t want to do just for money. What it likes, it likes, and what it hates, it hates.
Your soul does not know ambition. It doesn’t know money.
There’s nothing it has to do or it has to be, except itself.
It doesn’t live in the future or dwell in the past, but comes from a timeless part of you.
The only thing it wants to do is express itself and give birth to beauty, creativity, whimsy, and wonder.
My point is this.
If you’re in a financial funk, perhaps you’re so used to deciding with your head rather than with both your head and heart. The simple law of the universe is, you can’t manifest what you’re not radiating from your whole being, without those manifestations slipping through your fingers.
If you want to manifest effectively and hold onto your manifestations, set an intention with your whole being rather than with your head alone.
Align your soul, mind, and body so that they would work as one, coherent team. In this state, there are virtually no contradictions or resistance at any level, so you manifest faster.
If you’re in a financial funk, reflect to see how you’re setting intentions. Then ask your heart, what does my soul truly want to do? When you hear the answer, put your mind to it, and then put your thoughts into action.
That’s how you can stop falling into financial funks. Permanently.
Here are some SOUL questions for you.
To help you figure out what your soul is yearning for, I've come up with a short list of questions to ask yourself.
- If you believe that we were our most natural, untainted state when we were kids, then we can think back to our childhood to understand what our natural predilections are. Think back to when you were a kid, when money and the future didn’t matter as much as they do now. What did you like to do? When did you feel special?
- When do you feel most expanded? When do you feel most stimulated?
- How do you re-energize when you’re drained?
- Does your work drain you or energize you? If it drains you, it's probably not a job that aligns with your soul.
Enjoy reading the series on "Five Steps to Getting Out of Financial Funk":