Originally published in the Puget Sound Business Journal, April 29, 2005
by Mikelann Valterra, MA
Many professionals know they are not earning to their potential. They make a living, yet earn less than they need and want.
While many external factors may be to blame for not making enough money, under earning is a pattern of chronically earning below one’s potential. Amazingly, the resulting income ceiling many fight against turns out to be internally constructed.
If you are under earning and want to change that, examine your financial belief systems. Otherwise, when it comes to making money, beliefs that remain unconscious may cause you to sabotage yourself.
Perhaps you don’t negotiate as well as you ought to or you don’t maintain the level of visibility that your job requires. These are a few small ways in which many people undersell themselves and cause under earning.
Many people were raised with a lot of negative beliefs about finance. Children exposed to parents who fought about money may want very little to do with money as adults. These adults may be very bright and highly educated, yet when it comes to discussing compensation, a large pit wells up in their stomachs, keeping them silent. The child in them wants to stay as far away as possible from this money stuff.
Other people grew up hearing very negative messages about the wealthy. While this may have been a form of sour grapes on our parents’ part, the message was clear: It’s better to be good and poor than rich and evil.
The problem with thinking negatively about the wealthy is this: Why would you allow yourself to become that which you (unconsciously) despise? It may sound dramatic, yet many professionals are very conflicted about money. As they reach higher and higher career levels, these childhood messages about wealth often come back to haunt them.
People unconsciously hold on to belief systems by finding examples to reinforce them. If this sounds like you, a great exercise for changing how you feel about wealth is to actively look for positive examples of wealth in the media and to keep a running list. Train yourself to notice when wealthy people do great things with their money. By tracking examples that bear out this belief, you will validate a new, healthier outlook about wealth.
In addition to negative beliefs about wealth, some women also grapple with the romance myth. They believe that Prince Charming is surely on his way, yet still find it taboo to admit that they are waiting for someone or something else to do it for them. How can this be when the world abounds in strong, professional women who long for financial independence? It’s time to understand that admitting your truth has the power to set you free
Prince Charming comes concealed as many things. Some adults expect a future inheritance, so they don’t have to completely focus on maximizing their earning power. Others unconsciously rely on the equity in their house to save them in retirement. One woman told me that her husband’s life insurance policy was her back-up Prince Charming. So ask yourself, who or what may be operating as the Prince Charming in your life? What do you hope will happen or not happen so you don’t have to rely 100 percent on your own earning power?
The last factor that can lead to under earning is fear. We love the idea of more money, yet we fear the downside. Many busy executives fear that making more money will mean working too many hours. Others fear they won’t be able to manage larger amounts of money. Some are stressed trying to manage the money they have.
Some fear that if they made more, it would be taken away. And, with so many professionals caught between caring for aging parents and paying for increasingly expensive children, some wonder “What’s the point of making more? I’ll just have to give it away.” Ask yourself: What do you fear will happen or not happen if suddenly you made a lot more money? If you are unaware of what you fear, that fear will turn to self-sabotage, and will prevent you from making money.
If you truly want to step into prosperity, evaluate your relationship with money. How you feel about money affects how you deal with money. The more aware you become, the more you will be able to embrace abundance in your life and earn at your true potential.
MIKELANN VALTERRA is a financial counselor dedicated to helping people transform their relationship to money. The author of “Why Women Earn Less: How to Make What You’re Really Worth” focuses on helping women earn at their potential. Reach Valterra at 206-634-0861 or www.womenearning.com.
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Copyright © 2005 Mikelann Valterra, The Valterra Company, Seattle, WA. USA
Visit http://www.womenearning.com — “Transforming your relationship to money”
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