Charge What You Are Worth

Posted on: September 13, 2007

Money in our lives often gets associated with words that we don’t think of as money oriented words. I have offered a teleclass titled “Charge What You Are Worth”. There’s a money word: worth. And we also associate that word as meaning deservedness, esteem, a reflection of our value in the world.

We tangle the words up and we tangle the meanings, too. There is a great deal of emotional charge to a word like worth. It reflects how we are valued and thought of in the world. It seems that mostly we undervalue ourselves. We feel that somehow if we charge less we will be perceived as being more appropriate.

I’m fascinated by the sometimes less than subtle play of money words outside of money contexts. If you are broke, are you broken? It certainly seems to feel that way, and our culture certainly enforces the idea that financial problems are a reflection on your value as a human. Somehow, if your money stuff isn’t in great shape, then you aren’t in great shape and you have almost failed as a human being. Ironic, isn’t it, when you probably have received no training in money management and little useful advice regarding money. You are supposed to understand how to manage money by osmosis.

If you save are you more likely to be saved? If you have a trust fund, are you more trustworthy? What other words in your vocabulary are associated with money? Spend, cost, value, worth?

These connections always circle back to self worth. I think everyone’s core issue is some reflection of self worth. Am I good enough? Am I deserving? Am I worthy? How do I become more worthy? How much is enough? How much money will make me feel like I’m enough? How much house, how much car?

What if my worth really has nothing to do with all that? And what if no amount of money will make me feel worthy, because feeling worthy is just not about money? Trying to feel worthy based on how much money you have never will work. When you look for money to tell you how much you are worth, you will never be satisfied because money is a tool to reflect the basic value of things not of people. We have collapsed those ideas together as if they work the same, and they don’t. No human being can be valued in money, regardless of society’s attempts to the contrary.

Money doesn’t create worth. It doesn’t make you someone different than who you are. If you are a nice person, more money doesn’t make you nicer. If you are a jerk, more money doesn’t make you jerkier. You may be able to do more nasty things…but your personality, your core doesn’t change based on money.

Rather than trying to have our money indicate our worth, perhaps we might choose to focus on having some other criteria for our worth? Perhaps our actions? Perhaps our words? What measurement makes sense to you?

Shell Tain of Sensible Coaching is a money coach. She works with people, helping them change their habits and beliefs surrounding money, and guiding them towards plenty and prosperity. Shell believes we can all enjoy bigger and fuller lives. She takes you from the crunch to the ka-ching! Shell’s clients range in income, professions, and lifestyles; she successfully coaches individuals, budding entrepreneurs (more than a quarter of her clients are in real estate and mortgage related fields), couples, small groups, corporate teams. Call or email her to schedule a free, sample session; you can also sign-up to join her monthly teleclass.