Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/621015
C h e c k o u t A B M P 's l a t e s t n e w s a n d b l o g p o s t s . Av a i l a b l e a t w w w. a b m p . c o m . 31 Where do your beliefs about money stem from? The first step in releasing a limitation is to recognize it. Take a moment to journal about money. Ask yourself what you learned about money as a child: • What did your parents tell you about money? • What are your earliest money memories? • What is your relationship with money now? Do this exercise without judgment, but simply to become aware of your money beliefs. Feel free to email me with what you discover. We will work on releasing these limitations later, but for now we will just observe. Somewhere along the line, I picked up the idea that money was dirty, that the pursuit of money was in bad taste, and that I should do things not for what I can get in return but only for the intrinsic value of my actions. Somewhere along the line, I picked up the idea that money was dirty, that the pursuit of money was in bad taste, and that I should do things not for what I can get in return but only for the intrinsic value of my actions. This belief system might work well for someone of independent means, but that is not me. Trying to be financially self-sufficient while maintaining this belief system is impossible and at odds with reality. Other limiting beliefs about money may arise as we proceed through our career. We might recognize the need to raise our fees for massage to both pay our taxes and have health insurance, but feel unable to do so because we are convinced nobody will pay what we would need to charge. We tell ourselves that because it is possible to get a cheap massage somewhere, nobody would pay more for our work. We think if we could not regularly afford the price we charge, nobody can. While our minds may tell us these beliefs are correct and defend them vehemently, the truth is that these beliefs are like restrictions in a muscle. They pin us down, constrict our movement, and cause pain and dysfunction that reflects through our entire system. With the same sense of patience and understanding we would use to coax movement from a muscle, we can coax the limiting beliefs about money out of our minds. It is possible to create a fully supported life with a career in massage, but we must find our inner value before we will see it reflected in the world around us. I invite you to join me as we begin this exploration over the coming year. Note 1. US Department of Labor: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook, "Massage Therapists," accessed December 2015, www.bls.gov/ooh/healthcare/massage-therapists.htm. Jennie Hastings, LMT, BCTMB, has studied money in the therapeutic process from every angle: as a client, patient, and practitioner. From the very beginning of her bodywork career, she received business training and coaching. Now she helps other massage therapists break through limiting beliefs about money with private and group coaching. She can be reached at jennie@massageblossom.com.