The Abundance Series part 4: How to Become an Excellent Steward of Abundance

our deepest fear marianne williamson art by robin hallett

So far in the series, I’ve talked about the ways we push abundance away unintentionally, and why it’s important to understand that we need to stop worshiping at the altar of I’m So Broke if we want to call that abundance in. I’ve told one of the hardest stories to tell on a blog about my own money story and I’ve encouraged you to stop repenting and forgive yourself already.

No matter what your current financial situation is, no matter what mistakes you’ve made in the past, it is never too late.

You still qualify for Steward of Abundance status and today is the day you become an excellent Steward of Abundance. (or an even more excellent one)

No question about it, you qualify regardless of where you are financialLY. whether you have savings or not, a mortgage or not, whether you feel you’re doing well or not well enough, whether you register somewhere on the credit card debt spectrum, have student loans, whether you are current on your income taxes or not–YOU are invited to become an Excellent Steward of Abundance.

No matter what the story is, it is never ever too late. I promise.

Are you ready to rock your finances and honor your abundance?

Stewards of Abundance are people who show up, even when they feel puckered and afraid, even when they might wake up sweaty in the night wondering how it is all going to get handled. They show up and hold their own hand and continue moving forward.

Excellent Stewards of Abundance are people ready and willing to look at the scary underbelly of their finances and take the necessary steps forward. They might be scared but they are willing to look at it all and can acknowledge the mistakes of the past. They are willing to uncover the financial stories that have been running and change them. They are willing to take note of the patterns that sabotage their efforts and stop them.

Let’s say you and I want to go for a swim at a nearby river.

How to become an excellent steward of abundance

Pretend for a moment that you and I have been going to a local river every summer as far back as we can remember. Swimming together in this river is one of the highlights of our summer, something we love to do together. In the wintertime, we dream of swimming come summer. And finally, the day is here! We pack our beach bags with our towels and goodies and off we go. But when we get to our favorite spot, as we look out on the water, all we can see for miles is garbage floating and there is a sign saying the beach is closed due to high bacteria levels. No swimming today or in the foreseeable future.

Unaddressed financial ‘stuff’ is the gunk floating in your abundance flow. If you don’t clean up your river, you will not swim, and that means you cannot enjoy the flow. There are people who would say, screw that river cleanup, it’s way too hard, I’m going home…but not you! You are becoming an excellent Steward of Abundance, right?

You are not alone and you aren’t the only one.How to become an excellent steward of abundance

Each of us has a tricky history with money. When you believe you are the only one in the world who has made mistakes or doesn’t have it all together, you suffer. It’s much worse for you when you spin that story.

It says in A Course in Miracles, alone we are lowly but together we shine with a brightness so intense that none of us alone can think of it. So let’s do this together. What if we could create an energetic flotilla where we felt supported and nurtured rather than facing every wave alone, frantically rowing just to stay afloat? Let’s heal our issues around finances and how we handle them together. Are you in?

When we are backed by the intention to forgive our past and direct our financial future with love, we cannot lose.

There is a difference between you continuing to ignore things and you dealing with them. A difference between pretending it’s not happening and you showing up and facing it. One way is powerless and the other is full of power.

Although most messes happened in the past, they still hold a lot of our energy. Being a good Steward means honoring yourself by blessing your messes: you show up, take a look, and take the steps to clean them up with love and patience and kindness and compassion. These are not magic bullet puff-puff solutions my friend, because those don’t exist. We might be cleaning up our debt for a while. We need to become okay with that.

Are you willing to stay present in the process of cleaning things up? Will you commit to loving yourself and being kind and compassionate in the process?

Calling back our power

RobberofDelightIt’s not that we’re bad people, in fact, we’re very good people, doing our best…but sometimes we go unconscious about money. There are times we are so afraid of our own success potential that we do little things to apply the breaks. I call this sabotage and it’s my belief that each of us has a little inner saboteur who works to cancel out our good efforts. Even though we might have a goal: earn X, get out of debt, save for retirement…there is another part of us in there who is working against us. Each of us must wake up to this little one inside us and see the hows and whys of it for us personally.

The inner saboteur is very slick and sneaky – it operates along with all of your best plans and intentions to become free…but it is there in the background whispering to you. Sometimes it says don’t open your bills, other times it tells you to treat yourself to a little spa treatment or a let’s take a little trip to Tarjay. The saboteur will tell you to go ahead and take that family vacation – just put it all on the credit card, somehow you’ll figure it out later… But I’ve also seen people lease expensive cars for the tax deduction when they can barely make ends meet.

Somewhere inside you, there is another voice – your higher self, the one who is intending with a full heart to come clear and make your own good way into Steward of Abundance land. This one is saying to the saboteur, but how will we pay for all of this? (and my friends, sometimes this will be your ONLY wake-up signal).

Powering up the Steward of Abundance heart light

You are extraordinary and brave and courageous. You have faced some pretty hairy challenges already in your life, so taking action and creating financial goals for yourself will not be as hard as you’ve believed…as long as you remember you are brave and courageous and have faced big stuff already. If you remember this, you will do alright.

There is a real difference between trusting and fearing. When we fear, we play small – we forget that we are extraordinary and have the powerful backing of the Universe.

What if you radiated and shined as you eased your way forward? What if you could look bravely and courageously at the cleanup projects and deal with your finances while loving yourself no matter what? And what if you could carry the belief in your heart that showing up and dealing is what invites abundance to come to you?

We cannot do this work alone. Starting today, I’m inviting you to find yourself a financial buddy.

We need a friendly ear as we uncover the stories and clutter, someone who will listen and hold our hand, let us cry for a while. And then, that friend will remind us that it’s not the end of the world and they can help us to remember our freedom and abundance goals. They don’t fix anything for us, because we are more than capable. They hold space for us as we release the myth that we are bad people, undeserving of the good in life.

This is someone you can talk openly and honestly with about your money. This needs to be someone you feel easy around – someone who accepts you and understands. No dry wells or broken bridges, no stinky cheese faced people who get all judgy-preachy on you.

If you know this person already, formally ask them to be your buddy. Accountability partner is another name, but I like buddy because it feels softer in my heart.

If you don’t have that someone in your life yet, set your intention now to find them, and let the Universe connect you. And keep reading because I have more ideas on how you can find one.how to become an excellent steward of abundance

Places where I’ve found profound help and education about money and even made friends

When I wanted help learning about money, how to begin digging out of debt, making budgets, understanding what to pay and how to pay it, I joined Dave Ramsay’s Financial Peace University. I took the classes with my friend here at a local church – the pews were packed! I had many awakenings there for which I will always be grateful.

I have read a lot of books on money but the one I really found helped me take responsibility and acknowledge a 360degree approach (because it is NEVER just about the money my friends) was Maria Nemeth’s The Energy of Money book – there is so much more to uncover about why you spend, why you avoid paying taxes, etc.

I enjoyed Nick Ortner’s EFT program on financial success. Very helpful to getting to the bottom of your money and abundance stories… and healing some deep seated sabotage patterns.

There are plenty of Meetup groups focusing on financial freedom.

No matter what the story is, it is never ever too late. I promise.

Are you ready to rock your finances and honor your Abundance Seriesabundance?

Remember, alone we are lowly but together we shine with a brightness so intense that none of us alone can think of it. So let’s do this together.

xox

Abundance

P.S. This post was originally written in 2014, and I love how it’s still SO relevant today. Also, wow, six years can change a TON when you commit to your practice! I must share an update with you soon 😉 Read the entire Abundance Series here