Most people have heard of Attention Deficit Disorder, or as it is more commonly known as ADD.  ADD is where someone has difficulty in being attentive and focused on something.

We have all heard about how bad ADD can be.

But do you realise that, Attention Surplus Order can be just as bad as ADD in stopping you from achieving your financial goals!

Dr John Demartini, who calls himself a human-behavior specialist, has done years of research into this area with thousands of people.

What he has found is that “people will naturally act in accordance with their own true highest values”.  People will spend both money and time on what is truly important to them, their “highest values”.

Now in terms of your highest values, you are likely to have what Dr Demartini describes as:

1. Attention Surplus Order. You are far more likely to retain information that you believe will help you attain your highest values, and forget information that does not relate to those values.
2. Intention Surplus Order. You have far stronger intentions to do those things that align with your highest values.

So what does Attention Surplus Order have to do with stopping you from achieving your financial goals?

Dr Demartini believes there are seven areas in life.  Those seven areas are:

1. Spiritual – connection with self, soul and universe
2. Mental – emotional intelligence and mental acuity
3. Vocational – education for job or career
4. Financial – money management
5. Familial – the extended family including close friends
6. Social – companionship with others
7. Physical – well being of the body

And Attention Surplus Order means that you have your attention and focus on just one area of your life.  And as Financial is just one of seven, the chances that your highest values are financial are low.

So, there is a strong chance you will focus your time, money and energy on your highest values to the detriment of achieving your financial goals.

One way you can check if this is by looking at the words you use when talking and thinking about your financial goals.  If you find yourself saying “I should”, “I have to”, “I ought to” then you are probably self-sabotaging your financial goals.

This is why Attention Surplus Order can be as bad as ADD and can stop you from achieving your financial goals.

So how do we get Attention Surplus Order to help you achieve your financial goals?

To do this, you need to build links between your highest values and your financial goals.  We have to draw on the Attention and Intention Surplus Order’s to ensure you achieve your financial goals.

Determining your Highest Values

Let’s start with determining what your highest values are.

Dr Demartini developed a simple process to determine what your highest values are.  To help you with this I have included a worksheet you can download below.

Step 1

Consists of 13 questions that you need three answers to each question.

The questions are:

1. Which three items fill your personal or professional space the most?
2. Which three actions do you truly spend your time on the most?
3. Which three actions do you spend your energy on?
4. What are the three things you spend most of your money on?
5. Which three areas of your life do you have the most organised (not organised by someone else)?
6. Which three areas of your life are you the most reliable or disciplined at doing?
7. Which three things are you thinking about the most?
8. Which three outcomes are you visualising and realising the most?
9. What three outcomes about how you would love your life to be, do you talk to yourself about the most?
10. What three topics do you most want to talk to others about in social settings?
11. Which three people, actions or outcomes inspire you the most and what is common to them?
12. Which are the three most important goals you keep focusing on that are gradually coming true?
13. What do you love to learn about the most?

Step 2

Now in the 39 answers to the 13 questions, there will be a lot of repetition.  Maybe not exactly the same, but similar answers expressed slightly differently.

For each answer count how many times that answer was repeated in the 13 questions.

Step 3

Now rank each answer in order of importance from the highest to the lowest.

Focus on the top five as this gives you a good idea of the top five things you value the most.

Step 4

Double check your rankings.

Look at the top two ranked values and ask yourself which is more important to you.  Is 1 the most important?

Do the same between the second and third ranked values, and keep going down the list.

Step 5

If necessary after step 4, revise your top five and write down the list in order of importance, your top values.

And finally revisit these 5 steps every three to six months.

So now you have your highest values.

How do you link your highest values to your financial goals?

Now you understand what your highest values are, you need to link them to your financial goals.

Each person will have different links, but the way to start is to ask yourself, “How achieving your financial goals can help you fulfil your highest value”.

For example if your highest value is:

• your children, you can draw a link between achieving your financial goals and being able to afford to send your children to the best schools.
• helping others, you can draw a link between achieving your financial goals and being able to have money and / or time to actually help people without disadvantaging yourself.
• a fulfilling career, you can draw a link between achieving your financial goals and being able to have time and money to afford the courses you need to successfully complete.
• a fulfilling career, you can draw a link between achieving your financial goals and being able to financially afford to work in a lower paying, but more fulfilling job.
• to travel, you can draw a link between achieving your financial goals and being able to financially afford to travel.
• having great health, you can draw a link between achieving your financial goals and being able to afford the time and money to physically exercise and buy the right foods.

Conclusion

So once you have linked your financial goals to your highest values, your Attention and Intention Surplus Order’s will now push you towards achieving your financial goals, not away from them.

Just remember, you can download the worksheet to help you work out your highest values.

And the second page of the worksheet you can use to link your financial goals to your highest values.

What are you waiting for download your worksheet now and get your Attention Surplus Order to help you achieve your financial goals

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Do you and your family a favour and start taking steps so you can improve the health of your wealth.

Wayne Wanders

The Wealth Navigator

wayne@thewealthnavigator.com.au

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