During the last couple of months Dr. Evelyne Meier and I have been talking a lot about how our emotions towards the money are strongly influenced by our cultural differences, parents, stories and believes. They shape our attitudes of self, life and money.
Dr. Evelyne Meier a business relationship developer and mentor of women and myself being meditation facilitator interested in connections between our minds, emotions and body response decided to join forces and empower the women around us.
We have much in common. We were raised in very male dominant cultures, have been traveling and working around the world, raising daughters alone, experiencing financial up and downs, learning our lessons, working hard at finding our own truths while learning how to stand alone. In other words, living outside of the conventional boxes.
Did you know that our non verbal expressions govern not only how the others think and feel about us but also how we think about ourselves?
Our unconsciousness dictates how we apply for jobs, how we present ourselves to the world and how we related to money.
Culture as one aspect that influences our believe systems, how we think and perceive the world around us can be very powerful. Researches have shown, that women will express low power body posture more often than a men while talking about money or in a situations where they ought to be able to express their strengths and confidence. While holding the low power body posture for only a short period of time testosterone levels are reducing (around 20%), together with the ability to be more present, confident and enthusiastic while cortisol levels are, increasing (around 25%), which indicates higher levels of stress. Low power body posture is one where we are closing up our body, crossing our arms or legs, touching our neck, lowering our chin, collapsing in our shoulders while high power body posture is one where our spine is straight, chest are open, chin is up and arms are open and wide. Knowing that, it’s good to remember Super Woman posture and hold it for a few minutes (even in the bathroom) next time you need those hormones working for you during important negotiations.
The truth is, talking about money does not come easy to many women. If you are one of them, this is the workshop where you will learn to be comfortable discussing money matters. Initially, you might experience a range of emotions from feeling simply stupid and angry with your self that you have not spent the time to find out what your finances are all about. Or, your anxiety has prevented you to face reality, to ask questions about money of yourself and or your partner.
Dr. Evelyne has lived in Switzerland, France, Middle East, America and now Australia and I grew up in Communistic Balkans, living in Asia with 360’ twist and currently in Central America. We have observed many different behaviours that fuelled our curiosity.
For some women, talking about money is natural, for others it is not. The following examples are broad generalisations. Evelyne noted that in Australia, women do NOT talk about money, how much they earn, whether their Porsche or Fiat is paid through a loan or with cash,. There, impression counts, and not how you have financed it. In Switzerland, most people do not buy what they cannot afford, so what people have, is what they can pay for. America, the land of debt – so much is about instantaneous gratification – and in fairness – many carry big university debts. So being in debt and looking glamorous is normalised. Growing up under Communism, it was important to be like everybody else, standing up or being different (in any sense) was a big NO! Society placed shame and guilt on people that were thinking or even daring to living outside of the box. In Asia, large amounts are spent on religious ceremonies that are rooted deep in the local culture.
In the first workshop we will be exploring, how you feel about money and what might be the cause to these emotions. How come, that you, an intelligent ,talented woman, successful at work, and or a great mother, are in this situation? Do you feel shame because you think that you spent too much? Or, maybe you think it is all to complicated? Or, are you copying your mother who didn’t know the household finances and as this was the role of your father?
To gain an understanding of these emotions we will take a closer look to our mind and body reactions;
- What do you feel when talking about money – why you feel what you feel?
- What stories are behind those feelings?
- What triggers those feelings?
- Are you coming from a place of abundance, or a place of scarcity?
- What does abundance and scarcity feel like?
- What does the success mean to you? Can you describe success? How does it look like?
- How does your body react when you think/ talk about the money?
- How is your inner critic showing up in your non-verbal expressions?
Our workshop is designed to be a individual journey. We all have different backgrounds and stories, we all have made mistakes and achieved successes. By sharing our stories, we will learn from each other, become more honest with ourselves, and create goals that will lead each of us towards a life where we are in the driver seat.