Why receiving feels hard (and how to shift it)

As a business owner, you might think your income issues are about pricing, marketing, or strategy. And while those things matter, there's a deeper layer that’s often overlooked:

Receiving.

If you struggle to receive money, chances are you're also struggling to receive in other areas of your life — and you might not even realise it.

The Hidden Ways We Block Receiving

Receiving isn't just about being paid.

It's about allowing anything good to flow into your life — love, support, ease, pleasure, praise, rest, recognition.

Here are some signs of a blocked receiving wound:

• You deflect compliments or feel awkward when someone acknowledges you.

• You struggle to ask for help, or feel guilty when others support you.

• You resist rest or pleasure unless you've “earned” it.

• You find it easier to give than to receive.

• You undercharge, overdeliver, or feel guilty around money.

Sound familiar?

This isn’t a character flaw.
It’s often the result of conditioning — especially for first-generation wealth creators, high-achieving women, and entrepreneurs raised in environments where survival, self-reliance, or people-pleasing were necessary.

We've internalised the belief that to be worthy of receiving, we must prove, perform, or push. It often comes from our needs not being met as a child, by our caregivers. We learned in those moments that our needs were not important, and we got used to ignoring them and focussing on others. 

But here's the truth: Receiving is not something you hustle for. It's something you allow.

Receiving Is an Energetic Practice

If money isn’t flowing in your business, it's worth asking:
Where else am I resisting receiving in my life?

Do you let yourself receive a compliment without downplaying it?

Do you receive support without guilt or the need to reciprocate immediately?

Do you receive rest without justifying it with productivity?

Money is energy.

And energy responds to your openness, not your effort alone.

If you want to receive more money, you need to expand your capacity to receive — period.

How to Heal Your Relationship with Receiving

This isn’t about doing more. It’s about allowing more.

Here are a few practices to help you start:

1. Practice receiving compliments.

The next time someone says something kind, resist the urge to brush it off.
Say “thank you” instead — and let it land in your body. When I began working on my relationship with money, this was the one of hardest habits to kick. It felt so uncomfortable at first, as my default response to deflect would always kick in, but with time you can create a new response that is more serving for you. 

2. Ask for help before you’re at breaking point.

Receiving support is a strength, not a weakness. Let people show up for you. No one builds a successful life, family, home or business alone - and if they did they were probably knackered! lol 

3. Let things be easier.

If you catch yourself complicating success, ask: What would it look like to let this be simple?

4. Prioritise rest and pleasure.

Don’t wait until you’re exhausted. You’re allowed to feel good now.

5. Notice where you block flow.

Pay attention to where you say “I’m fine” when you’re not, where you reject compliments, or where you avoid being seen.

Healing your receiving wound isn’t about fixing yourself — it’s about reclaiming parts of you that were taught to shrink.

Final Thoughts

You don’t have a money problem.
You have a receiving wound — and once you start to heal it, everything begins to shift.

Because the way you do one thing is the way you do everything.
And when you open up to receive life, you open up to receive wealth.

You are already worthy. You’ve always been.
Now is the time to believe it — and receive it.

If you would live to dive deeper into this healing work, The First Generation Academy is the perfect safe space, where you can be supported as you evolve into your next level of abundance and prosperity.