Time & Money Freedom: How Much Is Enough?

by Cricket Wingfield, MD

I’ve never met a person who says, “I don’t want more money.”

For some, it’s wanting enough to get by, for others it’s a longing to enjoy a luxury lifestyle, and people wanting everything in between. How do you manifest your dreams, which often require funding, and not be constantly comparing nor perpetually dissatisfied?

Really. We’re bombarded by a world telling us what we need to be happy, cool, sophisticated, and looking good. Is it really for you? Being clear requires some deep listening to your own wants and values, then learning to separate the voices of others, with their own agenda for you, from your own. Meditating, journaling, collaging, and walking quietly in nature, and vision boards, are all ways to listen and pay attention to your own longings.

Get out a piece of paper, draw a small circle and put into the center how you want to feel. Outside of that circle start writing the things you can do to make yourself feel that way now. When you connect with the feelings you want to have, you’re already beginning to raise your vibration to manifest your desires. When your subconscious mind understands what you want, and how you want to feel, the power of manifestation starts to take hold and go to work for you. Use a dream board, focus wheel or the Living Vision Board to get clear and refine exactly what you want. Your vision board will be a positive affirmation of your dreams, and the dynamic nature of the Living Vision Board will help you grow and develop along with it.

Are you exhausting yourself just trying to keep up, or are you fed by your current pace and demands? Take another piece of paper and make a list of all of your commitments in life, then evaluate each one for how it makes you feel. Is this the way you want to feel?

Are you caring for your body, mind, and spirit as well as other people’s needs, and your bank account? Sometimes more is more, sometimes less is more. Pay attention. You might desire a change or renegotiation of your commitments. You might find that manifesting love is your ultimate goal, so be sure that whatever you do carries the energy and vibration you want to create.

How are you spending your most valuable commodity, your time?  Focusing on what you truly want and taking action toward those goals will keep you upleveling your life and achieving your dreams.

Are you wishing you had more time? Learning to say no is a powerful tool to protect your time and energy so you can focus your energy on manifesting your dreams. You might feel compelled to say yes when asked for your time and attention, and feel guilty for saying no. Of course, you’ll stop and help someone in a true emergency, but notice if someone else’s agenda is pulling you off of your own. Successful people learn to protect their time.

It’s easy to say yes when you feel flattered, or the most competent, or when no one else is stepping up. Oprah didn’t get where she is by saying yes to everyone. She knows how to say no. Try saying, “Thank you for asking, can I get back to you tomorrow?” if you’re a reflexive yes person, then ask yourself if a yes will take you closer to your dreams and goals. If it’s not a “Heck yea!” then it’s probably a no.

There are many ways to say no graciously. “No, thank you.” “Thank you for asking me, and that project/position/responsibility deserves someone who will put their heart into it, but I don’t have the bandwidth.” A clear no actually frees the asker to move on to someone else, whereas an unclear no leaves them hanging.

Check your passion and willingness to do what it takes to focus on your own longings in a world vying for your attention. Spend time now on what will give you time and money freedom. Use a dream board or the Living Vision Board to positively affirm your dream life. You don’t have to know how you’ll get there in the beginning.  Just start seeing it.

Then identify the very first step of action on those dreams and take it. Small steps toward your goals can change the trajectory of your life. The Japanese idea of Kaizen is all about small, continuous improvement. Toyota used it to make the Lexus. Find one small step you can take to improve your financial situation today. Organize your wallet, balance your accounts, know what you have, or ask for help if you need it. One step.

Spending time playing, relaxing, nurturing your spirit, and developing positive thoughts about yourself and your dreams will also support your focused work. 

You might wonder how imagining, and visualizing can support you in having your dream life. Visualizing is used by elite athletes, CEOs, and many others with clear goals. Michael Phelps saw himself leaving the locker room, walking to the pool, diving in, swimming at record speed, then touching the end of the pool before anyone else, over and over again. It’s a way of harnessing the power of the subconscious mind to calibrate your vibration to the outcome you want.

You still get to take action in the direction of your dreams, as visualizing isn’t the only step to make it real. Yet, imagining yourself living your dream life sets the wheels in motion toward actualizing and manifesting your dreams. See it first. We’d never have airplanes or rockets if they hadn’t been imagined first.

Only you can decide what’s enough and just right for you. Listen deeply to your own longings and use your Living Vision Board to stay connected with yourself and your own aspirations so you can have a life you love. How will you feel when you’ve achieved your dreams? Wonderful, I imagine.