SYMPTOMS OF FINANCIAL UNDEREARNING
We find we cannot reach higher levels of earning despite our best efforts to do so. The conventional pieces of earning power; like social status, socio-economic background, gender, race, education level, will power, creativity, leadership, etc...were somehow not effective in helping us to prosper.
We feel a deep sense of shame and humiliation when we are unemployed, and people ask us innocent questions such as "What do you do for a living?" or "Where do you work?" because we cannot answer the questions in a positive manner.
We spend money on little luxuries or choose the cheapest option, because we know we cannot afford the big ticket items, or even the medium priced items that we really want.
We bought high and sold low. When investing in property, stock, art or other commodities we noticed we continually bought items for top dollar but then consistently sold them at a loss.
We consistently felt and were stuck in jobs or careers where we were earning less than what we needed to cover all of our needs, some of our wants and still have money left over to put into savings. In short, we were financially underearning.
We avoided promotions or taking on more responsibility at work because the financial compensation did not seem equal to the additional work. We felt unmotivated by small increases in pay.
We were financially disorganized at work and in life, having no plan, trajectory or larger vision. Our path of earning was meandering and directionless. Our diminished income was a result of this vagueness.
We secretly felt uneasy with achieving and receiving higher levels of income. We found ourselves in conflict with building healthy bridges between money, God and spirituality.
We often felt a sense of entitlement thinking the world owed us more income; or a sense of resentment over not receiving our fair share of the profits.
We experienced a pattern of living downwards to our level of financial underearning, rather than prosperously earning upward to our ideal standard of living.
"Prosperity Deflection"--When money is offered to us, we often said "No thanks", when it would have been just as easy and more prosperous to say, "Yes, thanks!" We frequently viewed offered money with suspicion, fear, unease, distrust or contempt.
When faced with multiple job offers, we choose the lower paying one even if the jobs are all equal in workload. When asked for our salary requirements, we give a low-ball figure instead of asking for top dollar or for what is competitive.
"Process Skipping"--Skipping steps in a process or doing them out of order because of being vague, disorganized, intoxicated by the rush of excitement or being full of self-will or having a lack of surrender, for example: Starting a new 12 Step fellowship and then dropping out to work a different fellowship before completing the work from the first fellowship...missing out on the healing and change that comes from making a commitment to see the process through to completion, typically leaving before the miracle happens. Working steps 1, 2, 3 and then jumping to 12 or doing the writing assignments but skipping the interviews or even Sponsoring oneself. Someone who is process skipping often shows these behaviors both in their recovery and also in the work world, for example, wanting the paycheck without showing up to do the job or wanting to run the company but not being willing to work their way up the ladder, make the sacrifices or carry the responsibilities that come with it. Process skipping also occurs when members try to put their wants ahead of their needs. It is important to develop the clarity to differentiate between needs and wants.
We experience vagueness, confusion, fear and embarrassment around knowing the exact figure we need to earn in order to afford all our needs; some of our wants and to still have enough left over to put into savings.
We have Subjugated ourselves to others whose earning power was greater than ours. We entered into relationships of dependency, hiding under the wings of others, instead of spreading our own wings and establishing our own financial independence. We were unable to support ourselves and accepted contributions from others in exchange for our autonomy--not understanding the price for doing so...loss of self esteem, self respect and personal dignity.
We financially underearn, do not have enough money to pay for our expenses and then make up the shortfall by using credit, taking out loans or going into debt. Thus we become trapped in a cycle of underearning, debting and losing our solvency.
The spiritual illness of financial underearning can be traced to an energetic disconnection from Earning Power. Some members cannot generate or channel their earning power from within. Some member can only channel a small trickle of earning power. Other members find they cannot metabolize or convert their connection with a Higher Power into Earning Power. When a person is disconnected from Earning Power they often develop additional conditions such as a "Poverty Mindset", Depression, Learned Helplessness & "Financial Anorexia" -- a mental obsession with Pauperism, Scarcity and Deprivation combined with a physical compulsion to live smaller, and to financially restrict or withhold.
When money flows to Financial Underearners still in the disease, it often triggers them to hoard the money--activating terror and fear that there will never be more, thus leading to becoming a parsimonious "Miser"; or it triggers a black-out or "Money Drunk" -- where the Financial Underearner loses touch with reality and escapes into an uncontrollable and unplanned spending spree; while also triggering the tendency to sabotage the source or process of earning and to alienate those who channel abundance & recovery.
Once in the Recovery process, many financial underearners quit the program after they see positive change in their earning and income. These members settle for small levels of progress rather than remaining vested until they Recover and reach higher levels of prosperity. This is like accepting pennies now instead of patiently waiting for dollars later. Other members continue with the program until they begin receiving the "Cash & Prizes" in abundance, but then quit the program having gotten what they really wanted, rather than completing the process and staying to help the newcomer. These members eventually become "Victims of Their Own Success" as they tend to believe themselves to be permanently cured, but instead over time their spiritual connection to Earning Power begins to fade as does their sanity and eventually they lose their Prosperity, often they also relapse around other addictions if they have them.
Financial Underearners often demonstrate patterns of "Work Avoidance". Refusing to live life on life's terms, they remain in denial of the reality of their dysfunctional Work Ethic--thus settling for marginal employment, a diminished income and lessened quality of life. To avoid working, they will often slip into Busyness instead of applying themselves to generating business; and find themselves turning to magical thinking, fantasizing that a financial rescue, unexpected windfall or high paying job will suddenly appear with little or no effort invested into the process. In some cases, Financial Underearners will avoid working the FUA program by going to other 12 Step Fellowships that offer familiar comforts but lack the Tools or Earning Power to support prosperous recovery. This is like going to the hardware store to buy a loaf of bread.