What Value Are You Adding to the Currencies in Your Life?

Image by eko pramono from Pixabay

This was a question that really struck a chord with me when I was glancing through a paragraph that mentioned income. Normally when I read about income needs and priorities it doesn’t really strike me too deeply, I have always had faith in that department that things will work out, for which I am truly grateful.

However this question had a twist that called to me, it stemmed from a statement that money is simply a means to an end, and it was more about:

• Looking at my needs and priorities behind money
• What I believe I deserve across all the currencies in my life i.e. how much I value myself

Now that really grabbed my attention, what are the different currencies in my life I wondered?
I set about doing a little research.

Tim Ferris suggests time (in the sense of being time rich), money and mobility (being able to come and go as we please) are the three currencies of life.

Lisa Grace Byrne talks about our five life currencies as inner natural resources: time, thoughts, words, feelings and talents/natural gifts.

Willie Patterson cites four currencies to building a more fulfilled life, and includes a helpful chart of what poor versus wealthy means in each of the areas: money, time, knowledge and relationships.

Dr CH Vikranth espouses the concept of five currencies to lead a well balanced life: physical (body/health), mental (knowledge/skills), social (the people in our life), money/material possessions and spiritual.

And Mary Morrisey puts forward four forms of abundance we need before money flows into our life: ideas, gratitude, space and worthiness.

When I define the term currency, as things I have of value that I can exchange for value, it is Lisa Grace Byne’s definitions that resonated with me the most. To her list I’d add money, ideas and knowledge/skills.

This makes my list of currencies:

• Time
• Thoughts
• Words
• Ideas
• Knowledge/Skills
• Feelings and talents/natural gifts
• Money

I then essentially went through each of my currencies and wrote down my goals preceded by “I deserve”.

For example:

• I deserve time for self care, time for myself to explore ideas, time for relaxation, time with each of my children, time with my partner and time with family and friends
• I deserve thoughts that give clarity, thoughts that are kind, thoughts that will help me go with the flow and thoughts that will help me manifest the life I want.
• I deserve to use words that inspire. I love Jean Houston’s phrase “You speak like angels and use words like wands.”
• I deserve ideas that flow to me easily.
• I deserve knowledge and skills that continue to grow to the benefit of this life and beyond.
• I deserve feelings that I fully connect with, teaching me to navigate the journey to my essential self. And I deserve feelings that vibrate on a high level, attracting my best life.
• I deserve a life where I get to express my natural gifts and talents fully and regularly. And I deserve to use my natural gifts and talents to the service of all in ways that I can see and appreciate.

Once I had defined those it then highlighted to me where I have added value in recent years and where there is still some work to do (okay, perhaps a lot of work to do in some places), but it was gratifying to see how far I’d come in many of the areas in recent years.

However with 2020 almost in the rear view mirror it felt like a great exercise to get clarity on what I’m reaching for as I am moving forwards.

I really liked a statement Anne McNaughton made this week “2020 was the year that the cake came out of the oven and we could see what had been cooking for years, while in 2021 we get to wipe down the bench, get out the recipe book and start cooking something brand new.”

This exercise felt a lot like that process of looking at the cake, wiping down the bench, and starting to get ideas for new recipes.

So what are the currencies of value to you? Has 2020 changed your perspective across some of these? And how will you add value moving forwards? 

If you enjoyed reading this, you may enjoy I Am Worth It – Are You? Put Money in its Place,  Autonomy – Break Free of Money Fears,  and Profit, Purpose and Personal Fulfillment Can Thrive Together - A Remarkable New Organisational Construct. To be the first to receive these posts, you can also opt to subscribe to my blog.