What Does Money Mean to You?

April 1, 2005 by SMD

I found a quote from this story What Does Money Mean to You? and it got me thinking about the underlying meaning of money in my life:

Money is not simply money. Money represents power, love, joy, and much more. If it was just money, our “money problems” would be easily solved. We could just stop spending more than we make and live happily ever after!

To understand the problems we experience with money in adulthood, we must go back to our early years; we must explore the meaning of money in our own lives and the lives of our parents, since the attitudes each of our parents had about money more than likely shaped those attitudes we hold today. If we are in a relationship, our partnerâ€™s attitudes (not to mention those of his/her parents) must be added to the mix.

I am not a psychologist, but I do agree that the patterns that create our adult realities are set in our childhood. And I keep having this feeling that if I could somehow come to an understanding of what money really means to me, then I would be better able to increase my share of it.

This is the first of what I’m sure will be a series of articles about what money means.

My most profound memory around money from my childhood came when I was about 6. I remember sitting in the back seat of the car and listening to my parents talk about money. To them it was a deeply charged subject and the cause of profound stress and conflict.

When we arrived at our destination I asked. “Mom, is money the most important thing in the world?” My mother was taken aback by the question, that slight shock when you realize just how attentive kids can be. Of course, she said “No it isn’t.” But that didn’t have a ring of truth to it. To everything it I could see around me, it clearly was.

We all know that money isn’t the most important thing in the world, yet we secretly believe that if we won the lottery or had some great increase in our bank accounts that we would somehow be happy. Or that if we have X [insert your own fantasy here] dollars when we retire then we can really enjoy our life. I just don’t believe that money has that kind of power.

For me money is like a magnifying glass, it will increase the intensity of everything. If we are miserable then it will increase the misery. If we are happy then, with money, we will have more ways to experience happiness.

How about you…what do you think it would be like to have a lot of money?

Popularity: 2% [?]