If your income is variable you need to be careful your self-esteem doesn’t mimic your cash flow.
With so many people’s sense of worth coming from their wallets, it is easy to hop on the rollercoaster that has become our economy. Anyone who makes their livelihood from the stock market, or real estate market, or is self-employed is all too familiar with the ups and downs that not only marks the bottom line on their bank statements but also their mood.
This is a cycle that needs to be broken.
When self-esteem repeatedly fluctuates a person can develop a digestive disorder that can eventually turn into an autoimmune disorder. I have seen this time after time in my practice.
Biologically speaking this is what is happening. The stress from feeling scarcity triggers an adrenaline response, which causes your energy to be diverted away from digestion to the extremities (your arms and legs). This is really useful if you are fleeing a saber tooth tiger, but not great if you are sitting comfortably at your desk watching the stock ticker. This stress response inhibits the proper absorption of nutrients in our digestive tract. Since the gut produces 90% of our immunity, we are left feeling emotionally and physically spent.
A lack of funds doesn’t need to mean a lack of self-esteem. Gaining our self-worth in a non-materialistic way will help us weather the financial storm and leave us unscathed.
True happiness and self-worth come from within—and that’s exactly where it’s supposed to be. That way we don’t have to worry about it being taken away. It is not a material object subjected to the outside world’s whims. It is held safely in our hearts, ready to guide us to safety.
Engaging in activities that make us feel good about ourselves, such as volunteering or extending a compliment, we can build our fortress of self-esteem to unparalleled heights.