Money Energy Law #9:
Choose an authentic life philosophy. Then, use it to guide building a healthy relationship with money.
Living authentically means embracing who you really are—living your true self. It’s often associated with being dependable and trustworthy, knowing your values, and being clear about your priorities. It’s a question of how well you know your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, which combined define our character and, therefore, our identity.
Reaching a State Beyond Happiness
Unfortunately, there are many distractions that can take you off-course. Wealth is an interesting catalyst in a money-centric world. How much control it has over your emotions, personality, life decisions, and general well-being depends on your ability to harness its energy.
Whether money supports or detracts from your life philosophy depends on understanding your personal behavioral style. Aligning your behavior to your Money Energy potential can help lead to eudaimonia. It’s a state of happiness and well-being the Greek philosopher, Aristotle, often wrote about in terms of attaining your highest human good.1 If you are to live an authentic life, understanding the impact of money on your life and your health has to be a part of your life philosophy.
Giving a Voice to Money
Let’s talk about the topic – not many people do, and, in fact, we often will spend energy to avoid conversations around wealth or consider it taboo to raise the subject among family and friends. But that leads to anxiety and even worse—stress, because if you have concerns about it or unresolved issues with it, chances are, you are creating more stress in your life. According to a 2022 survey, money, inclusive of debt, savings, and money management, is the number one stressor for adults 18 to 57 years of age. It’s even worse for younger cohorts: For Gen Z (82%) and Millennials (81%), stress resulting from money ranks right up there.2
It’s time we start talking openly and transparently about money and its impact on our well-being. It doesn’t matter if you have too little or too much; stress is having an impact on our health and financial wellness. The internal exchange between your heart (emotions) and head (actions) is driven by your level of Money Energy.
If leading a purpose-driven, happy, healthy life is your philosophy for living, then it’s essential to engage with others. Discuss how you think about money, your relationship with money, and how you talk about money, and recognize the place the energy of money has at the center of your life purpose and well-being.
A Healthy Debate About Money, Stress, and Wellness
Let’s look at the lives of Frank and Mary Butler. Financially, they can retire in their late 50s. They’ve had a successful business life and now have considerable money in retirement savings and investments. Work had been their life.
During a recent meeting with their financial advisor, the discussion was initially focused on their investments, budgets, and what is next for their lives. Both were uncomfortable talking about their finances; Frank was stressed and irritated, and Mary was frustrated with all the questions. It became clear that despite the business success achieved, it did not equate to having a life purpose.
In addition to the couple lacking solid life plans, they weren’t in sync with each other. Their Money Energy was pulling them in different directions, which further exasperated the problem. They were both from the school of ‘we don’t talk about money.’
Not that I am wishing any bad luck upon Frank and Mary, but financial disagreements or misalignments between couples have a track record of breaking up a relationship if it continues to go on unchecked—even if individually their happiness levels are high. I have read varying statistics around this topic, but one fact is consistent. Money issues are one of the leading causes for a divorce. Or, if the relationship issue is not directly about money, the underlying cause will often manifest itself as a money problem. It’s another example of how Money Energy is interconnected with other areas of your life.
Thankfully, the advisor utilizes the tools available by DNA Behavior and had Frank and Mary complete the DNA Natural Behavior Discovery Process. As a result, the advisor learned more about their identity and was able to determine their Financial Behavior Capability scores and financial personality. Both are contributing factors to determining and improving one’s Money Energy, but it took the completion of the Quality Life planning process (part of the DNA Discovery journey) to reveal how their hearts and heads could be focused on planning for retirement.
Now that they know their financial personalities, Frank, an Initiator, and Mary, a Community Builder, can better understand the flow of their Money energy. Combined with other behavioral insights, life planning is easier for them, and they now understand each other’s approach to money.
What does it take to lead an authentic life?
If you want to lead an authentic life, ask yourself these questions:
Is money the central character in your everyday life? Do you know its impact on your happiness, success, and health?
Have you had a money conversation that evoked an energy rush or a rise in heart rate? How did you control that?
Are you experiencing Aristotle's eudaimonia, and if not, what would it take to deliver life happiness to you?
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1384 BC- 322 BC, Aristotle Nicomachean Ethics
22022 Stress in America Survey, American Psychological Association.