Why do I worry about money when I have enough? Why do I worry about money when I don’t have enough? Money is such a strange thing.
What is even more weird is the fact that money worries has nothing to do with the amount of money you have in your bank account.
Millionaires have money worries and so does the broke student eating baked beans for dinner 5 days a week.
Money is generally considered a deeply personal subject. It is not to be discussed openly and everybody seems to keep their financial matters very close to their hearts.
Most people have one dominant emotion when it comes to money and that is fear. The fear of not having enough money is what either drives people to work 12 hours a day, lie awake at night or go to extremes to get more.
The most interesting aspect about the fear of money is that most people want more of it on a conscious level. The subconscious fear of not having enough however becomes a massive roadblock for many.
Having too much money is also a big problem.
This too creates a lot of fear. The fear of losing it, worrying about protecting it and worrying about the power that a lot of money yields can be an even bigger worry than not having enough.
It is easy to see how having not enough or having too much money can cause you to worry about money. But, what if you are not broke and you are not a millionaire and you still worry about money?
What if you have a “comfortable” life but you are constantly worried about money? There are some simple explanations and I think some of them will surprise you.
What Is Worry Anyway?
It’s been said that worry is like praying for what you don’t want. Why on earth then would anyone pray for what they don’t want?
Isn’t praying reserved for the things that you DO want?
Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow, it only saps today of its joy.
– Leo F. Buscaglia
It certainly is, but your “prayers” are not limited to the things you do consciously. Worry is almost exclusively a subconscious activity.
When you are worried about something it can dominate your mind. It is like a poison that infiltrates every aspect of your thinking.
Worrying is simply when you choose to focus on the worst possible outcome of any situation. If you are worried about the safety of your kids then you probably imagine them getting hurt somehow.
If you are worried about your job then you probably imagine yourself making a mistake and getting fired.
If you are worried about money then you probably imagine yourself broke and unable to afford your current lifestyle or worse still, end up with no money and being completely broke.
These are all very strong emotions and they are all rooted in fear. Fear is the mother of all worries. All worries about money boils down to some sort of fear.
The real kicker is the fact that it is all made up. None of your fears are rooted in reality. They are all conjured up by your imagination.
All worries are a figment of the imagination.
Everybody has worries.
Everybody has fears.
It is only when you nurture the fearful thoughts and allow them to grow that they develop roots and start to sprout.
It is at this point where your worries start to consume your mind. When you idly allow your imagination to run wild and you start believing these FEARS (False Evidence Appearing Real) it can quickly consume you.
Why Do most people worry about money?
Money is an incredibly emotional subject. A few years ago researchers studied the behaviour of people in banks. As soon as people enter a bank (the place where money is kept) their entire demeanor changed.
Heart rate goes up, body language becomes nervous and many even break out in a sweat. The mere fact that they are in a bank caused a dramatic change in biochemistry.
Worry is a thin stream of fear trickling through the mind. If encouraged, it cuts a channel into which all other thoughts are drained.
– Arthur Somers Roche
Money is a big deal for human beings. Money represents life energy. It is how we get by. It is a means for living and having a lot of it means freedom. Having a lot of it usually translates to a better standard of living.
With money you can do more, be more and experience more. Not enough money limits your life. It’s restrictive and can cause you to live a life far below what you know you are entitled to.
The consequences of not having enough money is very evident in life. Poverty is not a joke. Life can be very hard without money and in many ways not having enough money strips you of your power.
Because most people know the consequences of “not enough money” it is often the source of our money worries.
Money is a very emotional subject. Most people in the western world grew up in an environment where money was a taboo subject.
Most people’s parents argued about money. Most people’s parents unconsciously imparted limiting beliefs about money to their kids.
- You have to work hard for money
- Money is hard to come by (it doesn’t grow on trees)
- Rich people are greedy (and evil)
- You have to save for a rainy day
- You can either be rich or spiritual
These are all ideas that interred our minds without our conscious awareness and at a young age these ideas became beliefs. They often form the foundation of our money worries.
If you trace your own money worries back to your own beliefs about money you will soon discover that all your money worries come from a sort of money belief that you picked up from your past.
Since most people have limiting beliefs about money, most people worry about money.
How Much Money Do You Need To Not Worry About Money?
Financial abundance has nothing to do with having a lot of money. Financial abundance is ultimately not needing any money at all.
If an amount of money in your bank account is what is required for you to feel abundant and not worry about money anymore then you will probably never feel abundant.
The greatest cause of human financial struggle is the fear of losing money.”
– Robert T. Kiyosaki
If you have $2 million cash and invest it wisely then you could realistically have around a $80,000 income per year. Is that “enough” ? It may not be. It only takes one market crash and your income could be slashed.
So even with a $2 million nest egg you will still worry about money, won’t you? If you invest $5 million wisely then you arguably will never have any “money worries” since your income will maintain a very high lifestyle even in a slow market.
The fact remains that money worries have very little to do with the amount of money you have. Many multi-millionaires are stressed beyond belief about money.
They are constantly worried about losing it.
How To Stop Worrying About Money When You Have Enough
So if really, really rich people are worried about money, what is the solution then? If the amount of money has no real bearing on your money worries, what is it then?
It all boils down to how you use your mind; how you think and feel about money. Money worries are born out of fear.
Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow, it only saps today of its joy.
– Leo F. Buscaglia
The fear of the worst possible outcomes you can imagine will keep you locked up in a life of worry – even if you have a big fat bank account full of money.
To stop worrying about money when you have enough starts with the realization that you already have “enough”.
If you are not hungry, have more than 1 pair of jeans and if you are reading this on a smartphone or a computer then you already have more than 90% of the world population.
The second big realization is that worry itself is a prayer for what you don’t want. No amount of worry can ever bring you financial security. You may know this consciously but on a subconscious level you need to take charge of how you direct and control your thoughts about money.
Lastly, you need to understand that your worries are never rooted in reality. They are ideas conjured up by your imagination and by only through nurturing can they take root and grow into full blown money worries.
You need to stop all money worries before they can take root. Everybody has money worries but only those who allow it to grow become anxious about money. Then it won’t matter how much money you actually have, you will always be worried about it.
1. Let Go Of The Guilt
When someone recently asked me why do I worry about money when I have enough?, I quickly figured out that they felt guilty about the money they have.
They received the money in a divorce settlement and it was a sizable sum. While it is more than enough to live a comfortable life, the guilt that is attached to the money is what causes the fear.
I explained that unless she makes peace with the money and let go of the guilt, the money will find a way to leave. It did not take long for her to accept that she earned her share of that money and that she earned it in many ways other than “working”.
Her sacrifice of raising three kids and giving up her career entitles her to that money.
This feeling of guilt is evident in many either ways as well. Some people work a job where they are completely overpaid. They feel like they don’t deserve the amounts of money they get.
Some people make their money by questionable means or even through means that are not in keeping with their higher self.
People who commit fraud, steal or even those who make money on the razor’s edge of the law tend to be overcome by guilt at some stage.
Examine how you make your money or how you received the money that makes you worry. Is there some level of guilt attached to it?
If you can’t justify to yourself that you deserve it then you need to find a way to release the guilt or release the money.
Your higher self knows your truth. You can never escape it. You can never hide from it.
2. Make Friends With Money
If you had to treat money like a friend, how different would your attitude towards money be? For a start, we do not fear our friends.
When you make a friend you get to know them, understand them and care for them. They are important to you and they are important in your life.
Most people have such strong emotional reactions around money that they can hardly speak about it. When you become friends with money you become more comfortable about money and the idea of having a lot of it.
If you are worried about money then you may be friends with money but the relationship is far from good. If you get to know money better and learn what it really is, what it can do and how it can enrich your life experience you can remove the fear attached to it.
Are you in full control of your finances? Or is it something you prefer to not look at? Do you have a fear of looking at your bank balance? Afraid to open the mail because it might be more bills?
Knowing your own finances inside and out and being in full control of it is the most practical way to tame your money fears. Stop putting it off.
It might be painful to confront your full financial situation but once you do it you will feel a massive burden lifted off your shoulders.
3. Generosity
Money is like water. It has to flow otherwise it becomes stale and rotten. If you hoard money and try and accumulate it for the sake of accumulating it then it will seek a way to flow.
Allowing money to flow freely to you and through you is what an abundant life is like. If you are hoarding money and you fear losing what you are accumulating then you have to let go.
Being generous with money is the fastest way to allow more money to flow to you and through you. Hoarding it will only breed fear and the fear will cause you to constantly worry about money.
You will worry about losing what you have. You will worry that someone could steal it, that you could lose it or your imagination will invent some sort of catastrophe that could cause your money to disappear.
Find a cause that matters to you and be generous with what you have. You can never give away money with a sincere heart without receiving it back multiplied.
By being generous with the money you have it will ensure that money maintains a healthy flow in your life.
Worry is like a rocking chair: it gives you something to do but never gets you anywhere.
– Erma Bombeck
4. Build a Vision
The old adage that without a vision, people perish is most certainly true for money. If you have no vision for what you want to be, do and create in your life then you will perish.
Without a vision you have nothing to move towards – something that your brain is constantly looking for. An idle life that is not moving to some higher ideal becomes stagnant and is highly susceptible to fears.
People develop anxiety simply because their imagination starts building (untrue) scary images about things that are not scary at all.
If your mind believes it is true then it is – regardless of the reality. Why do I worry about money when I have enough, you might ask? Simply because of this fact that your mind as conjured up some sort of future where your worst fear about the money you have has come true.
You need to take charge of your future. Create a vision for your life. One that inspires and motivates you. When you have an exciting future that drives you and pulls you forward your mind can not get caught up in idle thoughts of fear and worry.
5. Growth Mindset
It’s natural and normal to want more and to grow and expand as a person. That is a very different mindset than wanting more because you are afraid of not having enough.
Millionaires that make millions, lose millions and make millions again are very well versed in the “fear game”. Having a lot of money can be incredibly scary – especially if you did not have it and came into a lot of money quite quickly.
Jim Rohn once said that if you win a million dollars you better become a millionaire very quickly, otherwise you will lose it.
What he meant was that your money mindset acts like a thermostat. It will always ensure that your actual financial situation matches with what you believe you are worth.
One way to change the “temperature” on your money mindset is by always growing and expanding your money mindset.
If you have a growth mindset and you are constantly looking to become better in every way – especially with money then your level of financial; success usually follows close by.
If you are standing still in terms of your own personal development then you will develop a fear of losing the money you have.
A growth mindset is the opposite of a stagnant mindset. Protecting what you have will breed fear. Expanding what you have will inspire growth. This is true for money as it is for any other area of your life.
6. Let Go Of Your Past
The interesting thing about money is that we tend to replicate money patterns that we learned unconsciously when we were still unable to make conscious money decisions.
It is estimated that our money beliefs are fixed by the age of 7 and we then spend the next 15 to 20 years just seeing evidence to reinforce our beliefs.
The way we are with money is mostly a re-enactment of our parents (or other important figures in our lives) behaviour around money.
Your money fears and money worries are often passed down to you. If your parents had a big fear of losing money then chances are you will have the same fear – even if it has no basis in reality.
You could even have had experiences in your past around money that could cause you to have very strong emotions around holding on to money, not losing it or generally worrying about it.
Identify any past experiences you may have had that can cause you to worry about money. Once you become aware of it and understand where your fear comes from you can often dissolve the worry with the awareness alone.
The past is not the future – unless you make it that way. Release these past experiences and realize that they were only events and circumstances unique to a totally different set of circumstances.
All that really matters now and in the future you create is the way you think and feel about money today.
7. Fear and Love
The opposite of fear is love. We are not talking about romantic love but rather about the energy of love. The energy of love is giving, expanding, growing and open to the abundance of the universe. Love is one of the highest vibrations that humans are capable of.
The energy of fear is the opposite. It is an energy that contracts, closes off and shuts down.
From this perspective it is easy to see how fear leads to worry. It is an energy that shuts you down. By shifting your energy towards love you free yourself from worry.
It is impossible to have ample love in your heart and still experience fear and worry about money.
