EFT for Abundance: What’s Your Money Archetype?
Dear EFT Community,
In this article, EFTUniverse trainer and life coach, Alina Frank, explains 4 of 8 archetypes of how people approach money. Exploring your money archetypes can guide you in what you need to clear with EFT to open the door to abundance in your life.
-EFTUniverse
By Alina Frank, EFT TRN-1-2
The idea of a money type might bring to mind categories such as rich or poor, greedy or generous, spendthrift or frugal. These adjectives may describe aspects of how you are living as a direct result of your money archetype.
Your financial behaviors and decision-making processes regarding your finances are influenced significantly, if not run by, completely subconscious operating systems. These operating systems fall into predictable models, or archetypes. I have found the work of Brent Kessel to be invaluable in understanding these money archetypes.
In this article, I explain 4 of the 8 archetypes and share my professional insights on the reasons why people develop each of these particular patterns and behaviors regarding money.
Though typing yourself might at first feel limiting, it is important, as in doing EFT, to understand and transform your dysfunctional, negative default choices. By doing so, you have the freedom to gain insight and understanding from all the types that can lead to living a balanced and abundant life. Dr. Craig Weiner and I teach all eight archetypes in our EFT Universe Money Mindfulness Mastery Specialty workshops.
Here are the 4 most common money archtypes I see in my practice, along with tapping suggestions that will prove useful to you–
1. The Guardian
Are you in a constant state of worry over your finances? Do you think that if you let go of this worry, everything will fall apart? Are you hyper-vigilant about your spending habits? Do you have strict rules that will ward off impending doom, such as “I can’t have any debt” or “I can only live off my retirement interest and never touch the principal.”
At one extreme, the Guardian is anxiety ridden. At the other, the Guardian can be prudent, alert, and careful. Often this pattern began in reaction to frivolous or dysfunctional parental role models. If your parents were so fiscally irresponsible that you were left feeling insecure, you could carry the Guardian around to protect you.
We would all benefit from having a little bit of the Guardian, but we must be willing to take calculated risks from time to time in order to make more money, even if it’s asking for a raise or firing an inept financial adviser.
The key to balancing this archetype is to feel emotionally balanced and centered before making decisions, and EFT can do that quickly and easily.
2. The Idealist
Are you the creative type? Do you happen to be an artist, musician, or work for a nonprofit? Do you rely on others for financial support? Do you have a strong disdain for corporations and big business? Do you invest (or would like to) in art, small businesses, land, or socially responsible businesses? Do you place high value on compassion, social justice, spiritual growth, and creativity? Are you likely to hand a homeless person money more readily than you would a charity?
On good days you are able to carry a big vision about what your money can do, but on bad days you are full of mistrust, skepticism, and rebelliousness around money. If this describes you, then you might be an Idealist.
The two unconscious beliefs that are consistent with this type are:
1) that suffering and sacrifice are imperative for spirituality and creativity; and
2) it’s better to feel pain than to be financially free.
These beliefs are conditioned responses that come from your past. Sit for a moment and ask yourself where they came from. I have often seen clients with this archetype who were brought up in strict households where one or both parents worked excruciatingly difficult menial jobs. These parents sent the message that work is drudgery and challenging, but worthwhile in order to “succeed” in the world. Their children unfortunately saw these struggles and decided to avoid anything remotely smacking of servitude to a dead-end job.
3. The Innocent
Have you experienced life conditions that make it a challenge to make ends meet, such as having a disability or being forced to leave school prematurely? Are you in debt? Do you have less than a few months’ worth of living expenses in your savings account? Do you dread the idea of writing down your expenses, balancing your checkbook, or paying bills? Have you ever received a lump sum of some serious money and have nothing to show for it? Then you are likely an Innocent.
I have known quite a few Innocents in my social circles throughout my life and they all seem so carefree. Their motto is “Life is too short to worry about money and that’s not my focus. It’ll just take care of itself.” The problem is that what lies beneath the surface of this laissez-faire attitude is avoidance.
When it comes to money, Innocents believe themselves to be incompetent and inept around money. They have just never had a self-image of being incredibly successful. On a subconscious level many of them believe that they don’t have the skills to manifest more material wealth. They are more likely than other archetypes to get into multilevel marketing or play the lottery because they are after a quick fix, especially when their situation is dire.
There are also those that become Innocents as a form of rebellion, especially if they were raised by financially successful parents who were abusive or unloving. A common subconscious secondary gain is that Innocents receive attention from playing the role of the victim, since their life circumstances are really unfortunate.
I also see Innocents in my practice that have become financially dependent on their partner in less than ideal relationships simply because they haven’t been able to deal with their own insecurities around financial well-being.
The early memories that you may have of your family’s financial struggles are key issues to focus your tapping on if you are an Innocent. Along with vanquishing those old demons, another area to tap on is the fear you feel of taking a clear look at your situation. Continue to tap on these fears, especially when you sit down and review your financial picture through your statements, accounts, and bills.
Managing money is an acquired skill, not an innate one, and it’s likely you weren’t taught how to do it if you had parents with similar money problems. It’s important to clear childhood memories of struggle and past debacles. You will then be able to take solid action. Some suggested action steps include saving even a small percentage of income, going back to school, or informing yourself on how to invest, by taking a class or working with a professional.
4. The Caretaker
Do you see yourself as generous and compassionate?
Do you find that people rely on you to save them, lend them money, or help them out?
Does it seem that it isn’t often reciprocated?
Do you feel uneasy with all your giving?
Do you believe that people can’t make it without you or your assistance?
Do you treat others better than you treat yourself?
Would you feel uncomfortable or at a loss if someone in your life (that you have been care-taking) suddenly stopped asking for help?
Do you have less than six months’ living expenses in savings due to your pattern of being too generous with friends, family, or charities?
If these questions are setting off alarm bells in your mind and body, then you probably have the Caretaker managing your money.
Similar to the Number Two type on the Enneagram or Caroline Myss’s Caretaker archetype, as a money Caretaker archetype you erroneously believe that others can’t make it without you. Unfortunately, this often leads to the other person feeling incompetent and incapable. You can harbor feelings of resentment and martyrdom. Sometimes there is an underlying fear that people won’t love you if you stop care-taking. There also might exist the shadow belief that in order control or manipulate a person, you need to continue care-taking behaviors.
These beliefs can become very self-destructive.
Another common assumption is that it’s better to pay a little money now and resolve the situation than to let it go on and make matters worse. In other words, you’ll end up taking care of a bigger mess down the road if you don’t handle things now for others. I’ve worked with many clients with chronic fatigue that carry varying degrees of Caretaker qualities. It’s almost as if their bodies are saying, “That’s enough!” Instead of them being able to say no, their body does. An excellent reference on this concept is Gabor Mate’s wonderful book, When the Body Says No.
When my clients begin to heal and change this pattern of interaction, there might be some level of strife and resistance from partners and family members. If they don’t have a strong support circle, then their work is to come to some kind of peace using EFT about distancing or ending unhealthy relationships.
Using EFT to release the core issues at the heart of care-taking is absolutely the best way to end it. Was there an abusive or out-of-control parent that led you to think this way? Did you have an alcoholic in the family you needed to help or cover up for? Realizing that you need to put yourself first in relationships is the healthy, rational, and prosperous choice.
