Bridging the Gap Between Wellness & Wealth
A guest post by Melissa Martin.
When I think about the countless women I’ve had the privilege of coaching, more often than not 1 of 2 main issues come up in our conversations surrounding their struggles & goals. They are either unhappy with the way their bodies look and they want to change something about themselves, or they are struggling financially either with debt or living paycheck to paycheck and can’t seem to find a way to change it.
When it comes to their bodies the conversation usually goes something like this:
“I want to feel more confident in my body”
“I’ve lost myself after having children”
I work I a stressful environment, and as a result I overeat or under eat”
“I need to lose 20 pounds”
“I can never stick to a diet”
“I’ve tried everything”
“I hate the gym”
“I can’t seem to stick to routine”
And the biggest one of all “When I reach my goal weight, then I’ll be happy”
When it comes to their financial situation the conversation usually goes something like this:
“No matter how hard I try, I just can’t seem to get out of debt”
“I’m living paycheck to paycheck”
“I have just enough to get by, but nothing left for savings”
“I don’t have enough to travel or do the things I love”
“I don’t have a lot of debt, just the normal stuff like student loans”
“I don’t know where my money goes”
And the biggest one of all “When I am debt free/making more money/have more saved, then I will be happy”
I too have lived in a world of “When/Then” as it relates to my body and my bank account. I struggled for years with self loathing and judgement, believing that a perfect body would solve all of my problems. In the ‘peak’ of my fitness career I was the leanest I’d ever been and was a professional bikini competitor. However I was in $100k+ of debt and still struggling to love myself. When the pendulum swung the other way and my income topped $300k for the year, I was the heaviest weight I’d ever been and my inner critic was LOUD. I thought having a perfect body and massive bank account would solve all of my problems, but neither of those two accomplishments did.
The common denominator was one simple thing: my mindset. I was viewing my body through a lens of hatred, judgements and disgust. I was viewing my money through a lens of struggle, lack, fear and (here’s that word again…) judgement. I was looking for all of these external factors to validate and fulfill my own worth both physically and financially. The underlying issue was my mindset and it was manifesting itself in these two areas of my life: my wellness and my wealth.
Digging into self-help books, leadership development, coaches & mentors helped me to see my blind spots and to begin reprograming the beliefs I had around myself and my money. The first step to change is awareness. I began to bring awareness to the conditions I was putting on my happiness, along with the stories and ‘mantras’ I was repeating on a daily basis such as:
“making money is hard”
“I’ll never get out of debt”
“I’m irresponsible with money”
“I’m not a saver”
“I hate my body”
“I hate working out”
“I’m so weak”
“Everything jiggles”
“I’ll never be lean again”
“I”m not sexy”
The list goes on. It was in these moments of awareness that I had to pause, redirect my thoughts and mindfully begin a new story; one that would give me life, energy and motivation. It’s taken a long time to find the harmony and self love, and it’s a daily practice. But I can tell you it’s worth it and as a result I’ve found so much joy in my body and bank account.
What I love so much about Laura and the community she has created is that she focuses on the positives and encourages women to love the space they are in right now. Moving your body and working out is a privilege and an act of self LOVE not self hate. Mothers lead the way and champion wellness in their family. How you view your wellness and wealth will hugely impact the little ones who watch you every single day. It brings a whole new layer to your right and responsibility to self love and abundance.
So even on the days when you feel defeated, keep going. There are so many things in life to celebrate, and we have so much to be grateful for. Focus on putting one foot in front of the other and being curious about the small shifts you can make each day that lead to the massive breakthroughs.
With Love,
Melissa
Melissa Martin is a transformational coach, author & speaker specializing in teaching women how to birth their new money mindset & discover their self worth. Check out her website https://hustleandwoowoo.com/ for more info.