How To Do The Work: Asking Hard Questions About Money

There's a concept recently in more public discussion about "Doing The Work". Dr. Nicole LePera wrote a book titled "How To Do The Work" that delves into the concept of self-healing. It's about looking inward, taking an authentic inventory of who you are, who you want to be and what's stopping you from that.

In a world full of external demands and definitions about what can fulfill you, it's easy to become a copy of an environment that drives you into emptiness.

Consumerism does that to everyone, chasing the next shiny thing to buy only to end up using it less than 1% of the time after buying it. The proverbial rat race also does the same thing by pushing for the next promotion and salary raise, while all but draining your soul of meaning. With so many moving targets, often it takes a burnout or form of breakdown to provoke a wake-up call to align with the things that matter.

In that hour of pain and awakening, a lot of questions check in that previously didn't make sense to ask.

Some people handle it with therapy; others with a change of routine, diet, exercise, changing careers, or relocating to different places. It's easy to settle into the comfort of a new experience without looking within. Awareness can come through adversity or a set of patterns that provoke you to look for a different way of doing things.

Using money as an example:

• If you notice that you can make money but don't keep it, where does that come from?
• If you constantly have debt and no way to account for your time and efforts or can't invest or get out of debt, what beliefs keep creating that pattern?
• If you keep pressuring yourself to build an image for your peers that you don't even like because you want external validation, will you blame them when things don't work out for you?
• If you work more than three jobs to put food on the table, how long can that go on without affecting your health?

In some cultures, asking questions about money is almost taboo because of growing up without a free or constructive way to talk about money. You end up copying the things you saw in childhood. Depending on the template your parent or guardian sets up, you'll have some good or bad habits.

If you did have some financial literacy from childhood, it's a good start, but it's not enough to equip you to deal with a world with changing policies and factors that are beyond your control about money like government monetary policy.

Trying to get financial literacy as an adult is almost like a full-time job because of the shifts in ideas that you need to realign your habits. Again, because personal finance is personal, we have a host of financial experts, coaches, courses and crooks who will capitalize the things people don't understand in the guise of promising quick returns. The real ones will be unpopular because of the uncomfortable accountability you need to adopt for real change.

• How do you break through limiting beliefs about money to find out what works for you?
• How do you break free from a system that can steal the value of your labor by printing your currency into worthless paper?
• How do you secure a tangible future of value for yourself and your loved ones?

In times past, it was enough to work hard and make enough money in a few years to own a home, build a family and have a comfortable chest of assets for retirement. Now, retirees are going back to work as the money they worked to support their retirement is not enough to support their needs. It's a time when failing to get any form of asset is ensuring financial slavery.

Until we ask those hard questions, we won't break free from the assumptions we carry. Against a backdrop of devaluing currencies, Bitcoin is a crucial asset to consider, but it won't make sense until the bigger picture of money and how it works comes into question. Since you know how the shoe fits, it's up to you to do the work. Ask the hard money questions. Your freedom is in the answers you lack or find.