*A longer version of this post by Liz DiAlto was originally published on LizDiAlto.com. Closing comments are mine.*
First, here’s a short list of what NOT to do:
- Panic
- Complain
- Stress out
- Take it personally or assume there’s something wrong with you
- Blame any external factors
Truly, there’s only ONE THING you need to do: Listen To Your Body.
Because listening…really listening to your body is no easy task, I want to teach you HOW to do this. Could be one of THE MOST VALUABLE skills you ever learn as a woman (or a human, I know more men than usual have been stopping by lately-welcome, gentleman).
I’ve been speaking about this a lot lately and notice that when I open up about my beliefs about women and their bodies, the response can be summed up in an overwhelming “OH MY GOD, YES!!” So here it is.
Most of us spend a lot of time out of our bodies, living externally.
We’re concerned about what we eat, how we look, what we weigh, who we’re dating, where we’re going (this applies to several destinations from dinner Thursday night to our careers), and more.
We go through days at a time without actually checking IN with how we feel. And I’m not just talking about our emotions. I’m talking about deep in our guts, our organs, our cells. We rarely take enough deep breaths each day, slow down for five minutes or more and ask our bodies, our vessels, the only real place we have to live–”What up girl?! How’s it going in there?!”
Our bodies are much smarter than our minds, so as we behave this way, rushing around, focused on the external world, ignoring ourselves– they have to speak up like a little kid who isn’t getting enough attention. Our bodies do this in the form of illness, fatigue, stress, and more. All of these things are like big fucking stop signs begging us to SLOW DOWN and PAY ATTENTION to what’s going on inside.
I know this because I’ve lived the greater part of my 20s this way. It wasn’t until 2011 that I learned to slow down, shut up, and listen. Coincidentally, 2012 has been the most magical year of my life (more on that in the coming months…).
So how do you listen to your body? She can’t talk…or can she?
Quick story:
I was chatting with my mom last week about refinancing the house. She was going over all the details of this company she wasn’t sure she should do business with. I stopped her in the middle of the conversation and said, “I don’t need all the details, do you think you should do business with these people or not?” At first she thought I was being dismissive. So I explained myself…”Just sit there for a minute, think about this situation, do you have any sensations in your body? Do they feel good or bad? You know the answer. Should you do business with these people?” She said, “No.” BOOM! She knew it all along. And you know stuff, too.
All it took was one minute of sitting still with herself, tuning IN, and feeling the message her body had about the situation to get the answer. That’s listening to your body.
—————–
Ah…listening to your body. The scenario Liz shares of her mother’s experience using her body to inform her financial decision is a wonderful demonstration of the powerful connection that exists between your body and your money (and by default, your mind and your choices).
How often do you check in with your body before making a financial decision?
It may sound woo-woo, but don’t “sleep” on the power of your body to help you make wise financial decisions – from the seemingly small to the large and really consequential!
Inner-wisdom is definitely something you and I have. But sometimes your ability to access this powerful tool is blocked – for a variety of reasons. Yet, there are ways to create a clearing so that you can benefit from what your inner-you is telling you. Whether that is about diet and exercise or its money equivalent: earning and spending. That is why I am so, so excited about the webinar Liz and I are doing tonight – “A Busy Woman’s Guide to Getting Her Money Right & Her Body Tight.”
With this webinar, we are doing our part to help the money/body connection take its stand in the mainstream. Our jam session is designed to show you just how powerful of a messenger your body is when it comes to making decisions!
If you want to improve your fitness and your finances, and you want to get better at using your inner-wisdom to do so, I invite you to join us for tonight’s free webinar.
p.s. curious as to how inner-wisdom can help you plan down & pay down your debt? click here to check out this free training video.
