Whole Person Wellness Part 5 - Finance

By dougnau on Jan 20, 2009 in Financial Growth, Wellness Coaching

Whole Person Wellness Series

This article is part of a series explaining in detail a complete model of whole person wellness. If you’ve come across this article before reading my introductory piece The Six Components of Whole Person Wellness, I encourage you to refer back to this article as a starting point for the definition of whole person wellness, and an introduction to its six components.

The fifth topic in this series is on Finance:

Health
Career
Relationships
Personal Growth & Development
Finance
Enjoyment

Whole Person Wellness – Finance

There’s no question that our personal wellbeing is integrally related to our financial situation. At the most fundamental level, money provides us with nourishing food, clothing and housing. Beyond the bare necessities, money provides us with the opportunity (but not the guarantee) for enjoyment via new and exciting experiences. Lack of financial satisfaction can be every bit as ‘unhealthy’ as lack in any of the other components of whole person wellness. Our financial situation also has a unique quality because it can potentially have a direct impact on each of the afore mentioned components of wellness.

What does it mean to be Financially ‘Well’?

Financial wellness is not a one size fits all scenario. I like to think back to my idea of financial wellness when I was in college. As long as I had enough money to pay the rent and put a grande burrito in my stomach I was happy as a kitten with a roll of string. Certainly for me, as time has progressed, my vision of financial wellness has changed. Today I’ve got children to plan for and responsibilities/priorities that did not exist previously in my life. The real question is not ‘What does it mean to be financially well’, but rather what does financial wellness mean to me! And there are certainly variations of comfort on the financial wellness scale, just as you’d expect to see levels of satisfaction with one’s health, career or relationships. Its typically not a state of extreme happiness or frustration, its a gradient scale ranging from dissatisfied to satisfied. Use the following questions as a guideline to assess your current state of financial well being.

Questions for self inquiry

On a scale of 1-10, how pleased am I with my current financial situation?
If I answered less than a 9, what would make my answer a 9 or a 10?
If I answered less than a 9, how does my financial situation affect my wellbeing?
Does my state of finance directly impact my ability to be well physically, in my career, in relationships, with my capacity to grow as a person, or with my ability to enjoy that which I would otherwise enjoy? In what ways?
What would life look like if I had the perfect financial situation? What would I be doing differently?
Is there anything that I could do now that would not require a change in my financial situation that could bring about more satisfaction or a greater sense of wellbeing?
What am I willing to do to align my financial aspirations with my current and future reality?
Am I realistic with my expectations? What vision can I be satisfied with? What would be a stretch I aspire for?

Spirituality and Financial Wellbeing

Personally, I’ve never had a problem aspiring for financial success. As I became involved with coaching and the personal growth movement, I noticed a trend with many people working in this field. Somehow, many people believe that it is not ‘spiritual’ to aspire for more wealth. That a life of poverty is one that is closer to ‘God’, and that financial sacrifice is one way to become closer with the spirit. To those that abide by this belief system, I’d like to offer a rebuttal which I have personally chosen to embrace.

Money is neither good or bad. Its simply a form of energy. Think of money as the physical form of the work that you have performed. $500 may be the equivalent of your labor on a construction job, or a culmination of a set of knowledge you can share. Money is neither spiritual nor non-spiritual, its simply a representation of the work that you have performed. Of course, money can be earned honestly or dishonestly and the nature of the way in which you gain money can be of either a moral or immoral nature (and ultimately you are the judge of your own morality), but money itself is neither good or bad. Its just a form of easily transferrable energy.

Now, no one would claim that one’s physical energy (ie: ability to get up a flight of stairs), were either spiritual or unspiritual in nature. Money, like physical energy, creativity, and time simply exists. It is neither good or bad, spiritual or unspiritual. One way to look at it is that the more energy we have, the more we are able to align our lives with the purpose we are put here on this planet to fulfill. For example, if I’ve decided that my role in this life is to spread a vision of life balance, prosperity and wellbeing, then the more money I can accrue and pour into this vision, the more successful I can be at promoting this mission. Money can align me with fulfilling my mission. Money is the enabler and the result of matching a service with a need. I hope to do as much of that as I can in this life.

Conclusions

The purpose of this article is to support you in making the connection in your personal life between money and wellness. For some, it is difficult to sit down and face their financial situation, and for others, there is a high degree of satisfaction and wellbeing. Not having enough money may be as much of a problem as obsessing your life with earning more and more money! As you continue your journey towards whole person wellness ask yourself if you’ve considered how your financial situation impacts your life and if you’ve given it the honest assessment it deserves such that you reach the optimal balance of whole person wellness.

Be Well