Money Myth: "I have to work hard for my money"

Today I want to talk about a money myth: The idea that “you have to work hard for your money.”

How many times have you heard this? How many of us actually believe this? It’s ingrained in our society, for sure.

There is no doubt that women must work harder than men to achieve the same level of financial success, we’ve seen this countless times. Clients will tell me of being hired at the same time as their male counterparts and later learning he makes more and has since day one!

Our society, steeped in the Protestant work ethic, endorses [and encourages] the concept that you have to work hard for your money. I found a staggering statistic that supports this prevalent and strong societal belief.

A study conducted by the U.S. Travel Association found that 55% of all workers do not use their earned vacation days each year. That is an astonishing 768 million unused vacation days!

Are you one of them? Is the belief that you have to work hard for your money serving you?

This belief has far reaching consequences for your health, your relationships, your financial situation and most importantly, your overall well-being.

What concerns me most is the limitation this belief places on those who believe it.

I’ve heard countless clients say “if I’m working this hard at this level what will the next level be like?” So they fail to go for the promotion, to launch their dream business or break the glass ceiling because of this handed down myth and the life of drudgery it portrays.

So, what can you do if you find yourself struggling with this belief?

First and foremost, it’s important to see things differently. Rather than continuing to believe that you must work hard for your money, how about shifting to believing that there are easier ways to achieve work and financial success? What would be different you believed that work can be fun, light and easy?

I do believe that mindset matters most, but if starting there is challenging, how about seeking one of these alternatives:

• Ask for help
• Set firm boundaries
• Collaborate rather than isolate
• As the airlines say – put on your oxygen mask first (or in people speak take care of yourself first)
• Eat healthy
• Drink water
• Exercise
• Use breathwork (breathe in for a count of 5, hold for 1 and exhale for the count of 7)
• Stop eating lunch standing up or at your desk

And please, please, please don’t be one of the 55% that lets their vacation days slip away. You deserve better!

I’ll leave you with this:

“Having my money work hard for me is better than me working hard for my money.”