Click here if you would rather listen to this article.
[audio:https://kendall.audioacrobat.com/download/681d6d25-3392-aaf3-60db-fd4002a8b11c.mp3]
If you’re a sensitive, caring entrepreneur then you’re likely to face a situation with a client that I call, “Emotional Money Dumping.” This is where your client’s money issues suddenly become yours, leaving you feeling responsible, guilty or stuck.
For example, your client is late in paying you, sharing with you their money woes. You listen compassionately, and while you DO want to get paid, instead of asking about a plan you find yourself commiserating with their situation, saying things to help them feel better. At the end of the conversation you have no clear plan for payment but do have a feeling of unease and heaviness.
Or, let’s say your client is current on paying you but is frequently stressed out about money and always seems to be “up against the wire” with the latest financial drama unfolding in their life.
Even friends can be guilty of Emotional Money Dumping. No matter what the situation is, you know you’ve been a victim if you:
- Feel like you have to rescue someone financially
- Feel like your energy just tanked after talking to your client or friend about money
- Find yourself frequently listening to someone’s money drama story
- Find yourself feeling helpless or even scared after talking with someone about money
Let me share with you my ONE most powerful strategy for preventing Emotional Money Dumping from happening to you, including a word-for-word script you can use to ease the situation with love, caring and compassion.
The ONE Most Powerful Strategy You Can Use To Avoid Being The Victim Of Emotional Mo.ney Dumping Is This…
Anyone can find themselves in an unexpected or difficult money situation. It doesn’t make them wrong or a bad person but how they handle this determines whether they’re engaging in Emotional Money Dumping or in taking responsibility for their decisions and actions. Which is why, simply put, Emotional Money Dumping is always a boundary issue.
To ward off being energetically tanked by someone else’s decisions regarding money, you must first understand that this is THEIR situation, not yours.
Think of it this way: you can listen with caring and compassion but still choose NOT to let your emotions get hooked, or caught up in your client’s emotional charge about what is happening for them. Your best bet is to stay in a place of “Passionate Detachment.”
Here’s a dose of tough love that will help you: you don’t empower someone by engaging in their story or in their energy of being a victim. Often, people who create frequent money dramas see themselves as helpless and at the mercy of others or of circumstances. They blame others, engage in “Magical Money Thinking” such as hoping, wishing and praying for a money miracle instead of taking action and full responsibility for their actions.
So, what do you say when someone begins to “share” their money woes with you? How do you lovingly yet firmly establish a clear boundary? Try this script to get you on the right track with this important topic:
“I hear that this is a tough situation. What would you like me to do?”
They’re likely to say “Nothing” which leaves you open to change the subject if they are a friend, or, in the case of a client, move on to asking what steps they are going to take to resolve this as quickly as possible.
When Faced With An Emotional Money Dumping Situation, You Standing In YOUR Power Will Help The Other Person Stand In Theirs
While we can’t GIVE people their power back, we can help them by modeling what being authentic, loving and in our power looks and sounds like. What I love best about this strategy is that it creates a kind of energetic space that the person you care about — your client, friend, colleague or even a relative — can step into, if they choose to. They may not be ready to at that precise moment, however, by you modeling clear money boundaries so beautifully, you create the opportunity for a breakthrough for both of you!
