Money is one of the things that our society values greatly, but we are never taught how to manage our relationship with it. Instead, we go through life with a set of unconscious beliefs and behaviours about money that developed during early childhood as we absorbed messages from our parents and the wider cultural environment. Money Coaching helps people to recognise and understand these underlying patterns and beliefs. They learn how these patterns are manifested in their lives today, and how they are impacting them personally and financially. With a clear understanding of their core money patterns and their origins, people can begin to work on ways to moderate extreme behaviours and improve the areas that are causing them the most negative impact.
The problem
In most cases we try to change people’s behaviour with a mish-mash of arguments, incentives, and threats. We try to use will-power, logic and social accountability. We are looking for ways to push ourselves or others forward. But dealing with money is almost entirely emotional, and the desire for comfort seeking is very powerful. This means that our feedback mechanisms reinforce existing behaviour, instead of helping us correct it. So, we shy away from things around money that make us feel uncomfortable and our patterns do not change.
How does it work?
Money Coaching works by asking ‘What is blocking people from doing the right thing? What is stopping them from behaving in a way that supports their financial wellbeing? This may be due to a lack of knowledge, but more often there is also a subconscious process at work that hijacks their ability to make good decisions. Most blocks around money are created by associations with negative emotions like anxiety, shame and guilt. These associations are subconscious and pushing past the blocks is almost impossible. Money Coaching shows people how they are wired around money so they can then make conscious decisions around money instead of having to fight their subconscious patterns. Removing the blocks allows people to move forward without having to push them. This is the best way to change behaviour and thus produce wellbeing.
