In our lifetime, we have all met people with great financial wealth but who seemed to lack substance. And we have also met people who had very little money to their name but deeply felt the extent of our humanity.

As business leaders and entrepreneurs, many of us were trained to separate emotional success from financial success. But the days of "keep your feelings out of business" are long gone. More than ever, we are realizing that it is our moment-to-moment dominant feeling that determines the level of success we experience both emotionally and financially.

Before we go down the rabbit hole called financial emotional intelligence, let me ask you, "What does being financially emotionally intelligent mean to you?"

According to Investopedia, being financially emotionally intelligent has to do with the "need to live within your means. And to live within your means, you must spend less than you make." Do you agree with that definition?

If you do, know that you are not alone. There are many people who think that being financially emotionally intelligent has to do with being financially responsible. Think about it. If somebody borrowed over $100,000 against their line of credit to invest in their personal development, would you call that a financially emotionally intelligent decision? I received a resounding "No!" from those in my immediate environment when I made that decision a long time ago, but back then, I was onto something big. Let me share that something with you.

Financial emotional intelligence is understanding what we feel about money and why. It is really zeroing in on what money means to us emotionally, so we can feelingly welcome more money into our lives and enjoy it. Don't take my word for it. Let's do an exercise together.

Think about the last financial decision you made prior to reading this article. Perhaps you bought yourself a cup of cappuccino. Maybe you paid a supplier or hired a new employee. Whatever that money decision was, did you really stop and take stock of what you were feeling in that moment when the financial transaction took place?

The reason I am stressing the importance of noticing our dominant feeling when money crosses our hands in any form is because we make decisions emotionally before justifying them rationally. Allow me to explain.

Each one of us has a "little" thing called our ego-mind. In every moment, our ego-mind uses the dominant feeling we are experiencing to dip into the pool of beliefs and memories we have associated with that specific feeling. In other words, our ego-mind is constantly validating itself.

When your latest financial transaction took place, what were you feeling about money in that moment? Feel into that feeling and identify the belief/memory that specifically came up for you. Be honest with yourself. Do you now notice how your belief/memory validated your feeling?

It is important for you to be self-aware of this because that belief/memory you just referenced about money determined the next thought you had, which ultimately led to your next financial decision, whether that decision was successful or not.

This is why financial emotional intelligence is an ongoing feedback loop that leads us to experience exactly what we believe about money as we justify to ourselves every single belief and memory through our dominant feeling in the moment.

I get it. It can be daunting to realize that we are the powerful common denominator in every experience we have since we are the ultimate validator of our financial emotional intelligence expressed reality. When I realized that truth for myself, I massively invested in my personal development. I was done fooling myself.

Back then, despite being a finance economist, chartered financial analyst, and emotional intelligence coach, I could not, for the life of me, answer what money meant to me emotionally and why. I had a terrible relationship with money.

After much sweat and tears, I have become the financial emotional intelligence coach who assists business leaders and entrepreneurs in experiencing their ultimate level of success emotionally and financially. I am living debt-free and enjoying a thriving, compassionate relationship with money.

Since I only know what I am living, here are four great advantages of being financially emotionally intelligent:

Letting go of stereotyping:Now that you know there are financially wealthy people who deeply feel the extent of our humanity, keep looking for that evidence.

Owning our lives emotionally and financially: Beliefs are learned, which means they can be unlearned by consciously associating more positive feelings with money. Challenge every money belief you have.

Developing deep, meaningful relationships: When we understand that we are the common denominator in every experience we have, then we understand at a much deeper level how our feelings and money are always walking together and shaping both our business and personal lives. Make money fun again.

Creating the ultimate legacy of success: Financially emotionally intelligent people often ask themselves, "What will others say about me at my eulogy?" and they take inspired action accordingly. Lead by example.

Financial emotional intelligence is the predictor of ultimate success because it is our dominant feeling that constantly determines the kind of business leader and entrepreneur we are. Being financially emotionally intelligent is the most humane thing we can do.

Read more from the original source:
Why Financial Emotional Intelligence Is The Predictor Of Ultimate Success - Forbes