A Holistic Approach to Finances and Happiness
Aug 22nd, 2007 by Jennifer Lynn
Developing a More Conscious Lifestyle
During the chaotic nature of life, it’s easy to become distracted and engulfed in day-to-day affairs. Every once in a while I feel a need to suspend all the buzz swirling around me and find a private sanctuary to curl up in for quiet contemplation.
Finances may feel important, but over obsessing about money is unbalanced and certainly not healthy. Whenever I feel overwhelmed in general, the following guidelines serve as gentle reminders which help bring things into greater perspective for me.
~¤~¤~
- Don’t only do what is convenient. Learn how to make a deeper commitment and take a more radical responsibility for yourself. Build integrity by exercising the values and ethics which are important to you.
- Recognize the Divine in others through practicing respect and love. Although everyone has their own needs, each are different but equal.
- During conflict, don’t be limited only to your needs. Step outside yourself to consider the needs of others in a more compassionate manner. This helps manifest a positive solution for all concerned.
- Eliminate manipulation through demands, threats and passive-aggressive behavior. Only take from others what they are willing to give freely, and accept others for who they are.
- Let go of Ego and practice simply being in each moment. Rather than trying to exert control over circumstances, learn instead how to become present.
- Healing begins from within. Treat your body well through exercise and a well-balanced diet rich in grains, fruits and vegetables. Drink plenty of water each day, the rich honey of life.
- Volunteer your time. Use your creativity and energy to motivate and help causes which are important to you.
- Recognize that everything has a limit; the day, the night, even one’s own energy and time. No matter how great one’s perceived wealth, there always exists an extent to which one may enjoy it. Feel grateful for and humbled by your current unique blessings.
- Ever catch yourself saying, “I just don’t have time” or “I wish I had time to”? Take responsibility by recognizing that everyone has the same amount of time in each day and ultimately you decide how that time is used. Choose productively and wisely how you wish to dedicate each precious moment.
- Incorporate a quiet meditative practice into your daily routine. Prolonged meditation sharpens focus and enables you to think well, while awakening new levels of the Divine Self. Recent empirical studies are now recognizing how continued meditation physically enlarges and alters our brain.
~¤~¤~
Recommended Reading:
The Harvard Gazette, Meditation Found to Increase Brain Size
The Washington Post, Meditation Gives Brain A Charge
~¤~¤~
- Take the time to properly honor all the small steps leading up to where you want to be. Don’t miss the beauty of the journey, as each step is equally fulfilling and significant.
- Experience temporary sensory deprivation. Try fasting, taking an hour long vow of silence, or wearing a blindfold or earplugs for an extended period of time. This will enhance awareness of both body and breath, bring perspective and allow you to develop a deeper appreciation for each sensory organ.
- Change is inevitable and everything is constantly influx. Use this wisdom to react less to personal inner dramas and focus more on acceptance and being present.
- Instead of dismissing or burying negative emotion, become aware of fear, worry and discomfort to fully observe and experience it. This helps bring perspective and heightened awareness as you begin to understand the root causes of these emotions.
- Obtaining financial peace of mind means allowing your wealth to absorb unexpected expenses. Obsessing and fretting over financial situations which do not directly affect day-to-day situations sabotages this entire concept. As Marshall Glickman states in his book The Mindful Money Guide, “Getting into a tizzy about a small misfortune undermines the whole point of having any fortune [at all].”
- Take action. Don’t feel discouraged if progress feels slow. Just as a toddler learns how to walk one step at a time, it’s taking that baby step which is most crucial.
~†~ Baby Steps Are Key ~†~ Explore your unique purpose in life and discover what fills your heart with joy. There is never a better time to live fully and with integrity than right now.
~¤~¤~
Sayings of the Wise
Drip by drip, a cup gets filled. -Unknown
“Begin doing what you want to do now. We are not living in eternity. We have only this moment, sparkling like a star in our hand – and melting like a snowflake…”
(Francis Bacon, 1561 – 1626)
“The most effective way to do it, is to do it.” -Amelia Earhart
The Master once offered a banana to an awestruck visitor who so venerated the gift that he hardly knew what to do with it. When the Master was told of this, he said characteristically, “Tell the silly ass to eat it.”
-Awakening, Conversations with the Masters by Anthony de Mello
=^..^=
† †
Featured Resources
Compare prices and read helpful product reviews to make smart buying easy through Ciao! – Price Comparison and Product Reviews for the savvy shopper.
[...] Student discusses a historical approach to finance and happiness and declares “Finances may feel important, but over obsessing about [...]
I love your holistic approach to finances and happiness.
I received a google search on your blog because I have a blog going on my holistic approach to living a healthier life.
From a holistic standpoint, we can’t do enough to incorporate healthier ways of living and coping with what life throws our way.
In health and wellness!
Dr. Linda Mundorff, MPH,MSN,ND,RN,CNC,CTN
Take Control: A guide to holistic living
I really enjoyed this post, particularly the meditation links. I began following a holistic approach to health when conventional medicine failed me. I too now try to take this same approach to all aspects of my life, including finances. Thanks for posting!
[...] Student’s A Holistic Approach to Finances and Happiness . Find ways to bring life out of chaos and into [...]
This is a really beautiful post. And compliments to your writing style– its lucid and elegant.
I have printed the list and tacked on to my bulletin board- its incredibly inspiring.
Did you compose this stream of conscious style or was it a compilation?
Regardless- I really admire the way you think/write.
[...] the web and noticed some bogs about holistic habits or more so, working holistic things into life. Brokeass Student Finances may feel important, but over obsessing about money is unbalanced and certainly not [...]
[...] A Holistic Approach to Finances and Happiness at Broke Ass Student [...]
Nice post. Thanks.
Have you checked this IKEA college student website? Pretty cool. Love to shop there…saves ME a lot of money…but maybe I’m fooling myself
Roommate living:
http://www.roommateliving.com
Thanks for sharing that. I used to do the sensory deprivation. Perhaps I should look for my earplugs again. It’s fascinating to experience the world when one can barely hear it.
Great article! Just stumbled onto your site; looking forward to reading more. I appreciate any well-rounded approach to finances, and you got these aspects spot on!
I loved reading this post. It applies to each and every one of us and i for one am definitely going to use these little guidelines to help me!
This is a perfect post. I refer to it often for encouragement. Thank you so much for sharing it.
Awesome post! Some of these tips seem so obvious…Unfortunately, a person’s financial situation does affect how they feel on a daily basis. Overall healthier living is one of the first steps. Getting control of your finances is another. Here’s a post that has tons of tools for young people and their finances. http://movingtoanapartment.com/money-and-finances/37-tools-you-need-to-successfully-manage-young-money.htm
My approach to happiness, money, family, love, friends, health, work, stress, everything ties down to one simple concept.
It all came together for me at some point when I realized that I’ve lived 30 years of my life and tragically, I can only remember a minute here, a second there. Sure, I had a happy childhood, a decent upbringing, friends through the years that have come and gone…but in the end, I just can’t remember how it all went?
It’s like the movies I’ve seen, the books I’ve read, the songs I’ve heard throughout my life. Many times I re-watch something years later only realizing at one particular scene (halfway through the movie) that, “hey! I’ve seen this before!!”.
Just like the movies, songs, and dance in life, everything seems to pass me by like a fading second and here I sit at age 30 and I could honestly say it felt like 10 minutes.
So I asked myself, if the 1st 30 years was 10 minutes, and the next 30 even faster from what I hear (according to everyone over 30), then I am always one step away from “the end”. It sounds gloomy, it makes everything seem pointless, and it makes me wonder what’s the point of it all….and that is the $1 billion question for life and happiness.
So I haggled for days thinking about every possible thing that could possibly make this 30 minute life worthwhile. The best answer I could dig up myself was….”To love friends and family and be remembered as a loving person.” Ironically, that’s the best answer I’ve heard from 1000′s of people I’ve asked throughout my life.
However, that Great Answer has a tremendous unavoidable problem when you put it in the context of time itself. For example, I started thinking, even if I was a Super Dad to my children and Super Hubby to my wife and Super Son to my parents, a Super employee to my company, a Super friend to my people I know….who would remember me in 200 years? or 1000 years? The world keeps turning and time keeps working it’s magic…and the hilarious thing is that I can’t remember the last time I ever heard someone talk about their great, great, great, great, great, great, grandfather…
So my Greatest Answer was not so Great…but I’ll tell you what is Great.
God creating us in an image of himself to love us, guide us, build us up, and share in his abundance with us. Offering his only son as a testament to his love for us and promising us everlasting life in the name of Jesus. Weaving together this entire world from beginning to end over thousands of years and billions of people who are individually charted out to carry out His purpose. That is not only amazing, but worth living every second for.
My choice weapons which allow me to win the war on Happiness every single day in every area of my life:
Love, Joy, Peace, Long-Suffering, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfullness, Gentleness, Self-Control (and in my own words…Patience, gratefulness, hope, and a forgiving heart)
For God so Loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son.
The holistic answer to my happiness today and forever is, Give it to God.