Knowing our Ayurvedic ‘doshas’ or mind-body types helps us understand our strengths and challenges in managing our finances.
A brief overview:
Ayurveda classifies people’s mind-body constitutions into three main types, known as doshas.
Vata
Changeable, creative, lively, artistic, quick-moving, expressive with a tendency toward worry and anxiety when they are stressed, (For example, while watching the volatility of the stock market). They may consider the possibility of flaws in their investment plan, become anxious, and even lie awake worrying about it.
If this sounds like you, do things to create a calmer life. To reassure yourself, make a plan that includes less volatility. Stay prudent, and find someone to coach you so when the markets get scary, they help you stick to your plan.
At your best, you appreciate the philosophy and creativity of a solid, wealth-building strategy, along with its security. You are extraordinary in the creativity department, so devise a terminology and schematic for your financial plan.
Stay away from topics that cause you to worry or obsess about your finances. Go outside and take a walk.
Pitta
High intellect, you love being in charge, ambitious, you like luxury and the finer things in life, and often show leadership qualities, and you can get irritable and angry when things go wrong. Mostly, you are good savers, until your competitive nature and desire for looking successful cause you to choose big-dollar items, which may not always be beneficial for your overall financial plan.
Once this group understands the portfolio allocations and their options, they rapidly pick one with an objective they like. They are usually good to go until a friend brags to them about the new, greatest mutual fund, stock, or scheme, which can get under their skin and drive them back in the office to see what is wrong with their portfolio! Patience isn’t such a virtue for this group either.
So, if this sounds like you, it is knowledge that soothes you back into financial health. Do everything you can to stay focused on your plan, regardless of what others are doing or saying. You completely understand the reasons to stick with it and keep your vision of success in mind. What will work best for you is giving yourself occasional rewards, turning off economic or financial shows that cause you to become doubtful or irritated (because you can’t control the markets), and finding things that soothe you. Take up yoga.
Kapha
These warm, kind-hearted souls are ever patient, giving, and understanding. If this is you, you can save like nobody’s business. Once you decide on a plan, you are loyal to it. You tend to procrastinate, so the first hurdle is making a decision. Once you do, you’re all set. The downside of being this type, however, is holding onto things too long, and that applies to your money as well. You may have too much building up at the bank; it’s comfortable, but your money isn’t working for you. This is a type of stagnation. Suppose you receive a recommendation to change assets that are in a poor investment, develop your estate plan, or add beneficiaries. In that case, it is easier for a Kapha type to put it off. At worst, when things go wrong, you get depressed, which causes even greater withdrawal from needed actions.
So, if this sounds like you, find ways to motivate yourself to take action and tackle these tasks, ensuring you are financially healthy and secure. Find ways to uplift and encourage yourself. No one can stop you once you build momentum. Kapha types need to engage in physical activity, so get out and run!
No one is solely one of these types. However, we can all recognize dominant attributes of one or two in ourselves. I must add that meditation is extremely helpful for any mind-body type in achieving balance, clear thinking, and making good decisions.
Go for well-being first. It isn’t about the money, it’s about knowing who you really are.