There has been a theme showing up with my private clients lately — what I like to call “financial imperfection.”
What does financial imperfection mean exactly? The best way that I can describe it is that people are feeling afraid to move forward toward financial clarity for fear of making a mistake, or that they’ll manage their money incorrectly. They’re holding themselves accountable to having all of the answers when the reality is that surrendering to being in the discomfort of learning what they haven’t yet been taught is often times a better answer (even if it doesn’t feel great at the time).
I bring this up to shed light on the desire to be financially “perfect,” because this is an impossible state and an impossible standard to hold oneself up against. Each of us, including myself, are on a journey to the next level of whatever it is that we’re working on — whether it’s money, love, career/business, or something else. There’s an old saying that “practice makes perfect” — I prefer to say that “practice makes improvement.”
Another way the desire to be financially perfect shows up is that people are waiting until they have “enough” to proactively manage their money. It is never too early to demonstrate that you’re a good steward of the money that flows through your life, and when you’re able to show that you can manage what you have you will be able to attract more. The Universe suddenly knows that you can handle what you’re given, and so it provides you with more of it.
The end result? In trying to be financially perfect, I see that many people hesitate to step into handling their finances in a powerful way. Sometimes that’s from fear of honestly looking at their situation, sometimes that’s from feeling like they don’t understand how money works, and sometimes it’s from the fear of being judged or embarrassed.
Whatever the reason is for not stepping in powerfully, the result is what I like to call financial procrastination.
Financial procrastination can have a significant and lasting impact on the quality of your life…so let me say more about that. I’ve shared before that I believe that money can be a divine tool to support your life and what you’re up to, and I do believe that with all of my heart. Money has the potential to be fuel for your dreams, and to provide you with the ability to unlock and unleash your potential. Pretty powerful, right?
So what is it saying if you’re allowing the desire to be financially perfect hold you back from the life you’ve always wanted to live? Are you able to step into the “mess” of financial imperfection to get to the other side to reclaim your life and step fully into all of who you’re meant to be?
In a more functional capacity, any financial expert will be quick to explain that the longer you wait to get a handle on your finances, the more it will cost you in terms of the ability to invest the money and earn a greater return on it (you may have heard of this as the “time value of money” concept). And while this is true and the left side of my brain agrees with the mathematical calculation of this concept, I have to stop and ask the more important question here.
Can you stand to be with the imperfection of looking at your financial situation in order to breakthrough to the other side of abundance and living your life full out with everything you have?
This is most certainly not an easy question to answer, yet it’s one that I was called to ask today — of myself as well as of you. In the end, a solid financial plan and accompanying proactive money management skills are the backbone of your financial freedom as well as the freedom to be all that you were meant to be.
Are you ready?