Does money slip out of your fingers as soon as you get it? Do you get into financial trouble and not really understand how you got there? Or have you negotiated an uneasy truce with money, a truce that works pretty well but might be blocking you from wild financial success?

Maybe it’s because of your money metaphor.

Here are 8 metaphors, 8 common ways of relating to money, that shape your life and your business. I’ll describe each of the 8 metaphors and, after each one, I’ll ask you some follow-up questions to help you explore your relationship with money more deeply.

Money is a werewolf.

I can have money, but only if I’m constantly on guard against its evil influence. I need to lock money in the basement so it can’t get at me. If money bites me, it will corrupt me and turn me into an unethical, untrustworthy, greedy person.

Tell me a story. Tell me a story about you having lots of money and it corrupting you. What would you do with the money? How would it change your essential nature? Does this story ring true?

Money is bees.

I can keep money, and I can get honey from money, but if I’m not a skilled, diligent, cautious beekeeper, money will sting me and I’ll get into big trouble and it will hurt a lot.

Is money really that dangerous? Does it require that much caution? What would happen if you tried acting like a skilled and confident moneykeeper instead of an afraid and cautious moneykeeper? Bees respect confidence – might money be the same way?

Money is nuts.

As long as I have enough money squirreled away in my tree trunk, I’ll be able to survive the winter. Spring, summer, and fall, I spend all my time gathering money to prepare for the winter.

How do you feel in spring, summer, and fall? Are you content with your life being an endless struggle to survive a future drought that may never come?

Money is rain.

Money falls from the sky like a gift from the gods, granted or withheld based on cosmic whims beyond my mortal comprehension. When it rains, I might as well drink my fill and spend as much money as I want, because who knows when the next rainfall will be? I can do a rain dance and pray, but ultimately, it’s out of my hands.

Is it really true that there’s nothing you can do about it? How does it benefit you to believe that it’s out of your hands? What amazing, good things might happen if you built a rain barrel or a water mill?

Money is wood.

If I need money, I can just chop down a tree with my credit card, any time I want. There are so many trees in this forest, I’ll never run out of money!

What’s the hidden cost of chopping down a tree / charging something to your credit card? Who’s going to replant that tree you chopped down? Who’s going to repay your debt? Is your current happiness worth the price you’ll pay in the future?

Money is fish.

I can catch money any time I’m hungry. Money is abundant. Money comes easily to me. Through my power of intention, I effortlessly attract all the money I desire and need. There is enough money in the ocean for every living being.

Intention is an amazingly powerful force on the energetic plane. Have you found it to hold true on the physical plane? What helps the fish population more: to visualize their abundance, or to take action against overfishing? What helps your relationship with money more: to visualize its abundance, or to take action to manage it well?

Money is energy.

Money is energy. I can direct the flow of money to make things happen. Money’s essence is neutral, so it takes on the flavor of how it’s used. If I use money for good, it can make good things happen. If I use money for evil or greed, it can make bad things happen. If I use money stupidly, it can make stupid things happen, and if I use money smartly, it can make smart things happen.

Look inside your heart. Is it a good heart? Look inside your brain. Is it a smart brain? If you’re not likely to be overcome by evil or stupidity any time soon, then is money really neutral – to you? How might your relationship with money change if you thought of it as positive instead of neutral?

Money is a friend.

Money is a friend. If I treat money with welcoming kindness, money will be there for me when I need it. If I never call or write or hang out with money except when I need something, money will eventually stop returning my calls.

Do you call? Do you write? Do you hang out with your friend when you don’t need something?

What’s your money relationship? Is it one of these eight, or is yours one I haven’t listed?