Spring 2021: Financial Energy – Proactivity versus Reactivity

There’s something called “The Tree of Life” (also “The Pillar of Consciousness”, expanded in the study of “Jacob’s Ladder”) in Kabbala that graphs along the shape of the human body, describing elements of life and consciousness that the student may choose to look at and develop.

Imagine a lightning bolt, zig-zagging from the top of your head to the base of your torso, with meaningful stops along the way.

Starting with the head is connection (to the Divine)

Then to the right shoulder: Father/active energy/inspiration

Left shoulder: Mother passive energy/understanding

Followed by the right rib: mercy, reward

Then the left rib: judgment, punishment

Then, your core: Truth/Self

Right hip: active action or (proactivity)

Left hip: passive action (or reactivity)

Near your belly button: ego (note positioning in between left and right hips)

And at the base of your torso: The physical body and subconsciousness

As I’ve said numerous times, money gets to a tender place in all of us. We all want to do the best we can with the resources we have, but it’s difficult to determine what is “best,” particularly when your ego gets involved.

With money, it seems there are people who tend to be more:

Proactive (financial planners, the “money minded” partner in a marriage or committed relationship or business partnership who wants to keep eyes on the numbers) or

Reactive (everyone else).

Each of these tendencies hire me for various reasons but they can be distilled down to the proactives who want a second (or third, or fourth) opinion and the reactives who, eventually, seek me out because:

• They have become weary of always reacting and feeling that the financial ground beneath them is never firm or
• They are thrown into circumstances beyond their control and they must make financial decisions as a matter of survival in this world (I.e., being fired, widowed, relocated).

Both types/tendencies seek the balance between too much activity (sometimes a striving for control, and who doesn’t want control?!) and complete inactivity (usually due to indecision/analysis paralysis/fear/vulnerability). Ideally, peace of mind.

When I was working with a marketing coach, she asked me who my business’ biggest competition was; I responded, “People doing nothing.”

You see, in order to be helpful to people, they first must come to know that they can learn, understand, and move forward.

Anyone making finances overly complicated is not in an ideal position to help; as the adage goes, “People don’t care how much you know, they want to know how much you care.”

Financial planning is as much about money as it is about life. It’s about strengthening the muscles of patience, resilience, resourcefulness, creativity, and intention. It’s about controlling what you can and making peace with what you can’t.

I invite you to consider these things and, if you need more than a blog post, let’s talk https://lauberfinancialplanning.com/lets-talk/.

Be well, Amy Jo