This is the third and final article in my series on abundant thinking. If you are new to the series you can catch up with “Do You Have and Impoverished Mind?” and “Don’t Tell me What’s Wrong, Tell Me What’s Right.” To recap briefly, I began writing this series because I had been focusing on what I didn’t have instead of what I did.
Although I have a tremendous amount to be grateful for (home, job, wonderful family), I was comparing myself to those I perceived to have even better (bigger home, more job flexibility), and it was causing me nothing but misery. Knowing that the quickest way out of misery is gratitude, I decided to shift my thinking to how abundant I really am and to share my thoughts on abundance with you.
If you have your health, enough food to eat, and a roof over your head then you have enough to survive and lots to be grateful for. If you have friends, family a job that you enjoy and love in your life, you are that much better. Having any or all of these things, even at their minimum levels, still puts you far ahead of millions of people who struggle every day for the basic necessities of life. Ironically, many of these people will lead happier lives than those who have plenty.
The world doesn’t owe you a living. In fact, it doesn’t owe you anything. If there is something you want, you must work to get it. However, just like the world doesn’t owe you anything, it will also not deny you anything. The key is to be realistic in what you want, and not be influenced by our modern consumerist society. You don’t need the latest designer accessories, the best gadgets, a bigger house or a luxury car to be happy, so don’t convince yourself that you do.
Here are a few quick things that you can do to become an abundant thinker.
- Decide now that you will start to think abundant thoughts and do it
- Count your blessings right now, and start being grateful for all the good things you have in your life.
- Stop thinking about what you believe you don’t have. Instead, focus on creating the circumstances that you do want. Develop your interests, knowledge, and skills in areas that will help you achieve more.
- Replace “could’ve”, “should’ve” and “would’ve” with“I want”.
- Don’t feel guilty for wanting. It is your personal choice to strive for happiness for yourself and others.
- You can want, but don’t create specific expectations. Having expectations leads to disappointment.
- Better still, create zero expectations of what you will receive. Do not automatically assume that you will receive anything. Just know that anything is possible and invite that abundance into your life.
- Be mentally prepared for the worst-case scenario. Think positively about receiving what you want, but do not take it as read. If you meet your goals, it will add to the happiness you already enjoy; if not, it doesn’t matter because you are happy with what you already have.
- Stop thinking the world owes you a living and that you deserve to receive what you want. Everything you receive in life is a gift. The world doesn’t owe you anything, but its abundance is capable of giving you anything.
- Stop feeling cheated, and like a victim. Take control and take responsibility for your own happiness.
- Know that your past does not equal your future, and your current unfavorable situation does not have to last if you choose to make it better. You are not your condition.
- Accept that you will make mistakes. Don’t beat yourself up when you do; regard mistakes as moments on your learning curve that will help take you to new heights. Learn from them and move on. Some of our hardest knocks teach us our most important lessons in life.
- Think of a physical reminder that will help you keep your thoughts on track. Every time you feel you are drifting back to thoughts of scarcity, perform your little physical action to realign yourself with abundance. You could click your fingers, snap a rubber band on your wrist, or simply join your thumb to your forefinger as people do in meditation.
- Develop a mantra that you repeat every morning and evening or whenever you need a boost. For ideas, read 100 Affirmations to Help You Take Control of Your Life part 1 and part 2. To help you craft those mantras read 5 Simple Steps to Crafting Your Own Powerful Affirmations.
Next Steps
As a starter exercise, think of one situation in your life that you believe should have turned out better because your expectations were so formulated. Try and find a way to see the positives in it, how you may have learned from your “failure” to meet your expectations, and then let go of those expectations. Rephrase your expectations into a request for abundance.
No related posts.
| If this article helped you grow, sign up below to get FREE updates. Access to the Personal Growth Toolbox and newsletter included. | |||
|
- Discover Your Life Purpose - Live Fearlessly - Nourish Your Spirit |
|||
Hi, My name is Lisa. I am a mother, girlfriend, blogger, runner and happiness seeker.
I started blogging in March 2010 as a way for me to grow and help others by sharing what I learned.
My personal development journey began about 15 years ago.
{ 18 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Lisa,
I agree 100% with what you said. Clinging to entitlement only leaves you with a feeling of bitterness. Even if you get what you think is owed to you, will never appreciate it. It’s time for us all to start practicing more gratitude.
Hi Vic,
Thanks for stopping by. Entitlement is a sure way to be disappointed. Think about it… How often have you gotten exactly what you wanted when you wanted it, excluding material items that can be purchased? Most things have to be worked for. :-)
Thats a big one, Lisa. Indeed, the world doesn’t owe anyone a thing. How many times have I personally tried to lay blame on the world ‘out there’ because I simply refused to look directly at the problem? Any inward voice insisting that you are a victim – is a false voice! Life wants to grant you your rights as a supreme being with superlatively creative skills. We will be wonderfully startled at the abundance we attract when we come from an empowered, poised and calm state of mind.
Hi Rob,
Blame, discouragement, guilt, worry and fretting are all ways that we distract ourselves from the present moment. To effectively solve any problem, we must know exactly what it is. I have that inward voice that suggests that I am a victim too. When it rears it’s head, I knock it back with a good dose of empowerment. Thanks for the reminder about us ALL being supreme beings. :-)
Lisa, you are great and that’s why you think greatly. It may surprise to know that in the Holy Qur’an Allah the Almighty said “If you are grateful to Me, I will give you more………” One of the ways to be grateful to the Almighty is to appreciate the favours He has done to you and to look around and see the millions whom you are better off. Then you will know and realize that you are favoured and then you will be grateful to God and then God will give you more and more……………………………!
Abdul-Azeez,
Thank you for the compliment. I love that quote from the Qur’an, it is beautiful. What I have found is that the more grateful I am, the more grateful I want to be and the more I give, the more I want to give. God has blessed me in so many ways –recognizing and appreciating it is the way to get more blessings. Have a great rest of the week/weekend.
Well said Lisa, well said.
I think as human beings we come with a natural sense of competition. To survive, our instincts have grown to include a competitive nature where we can sometimes feel that if someone has more of the pie, there must be less left for me.
On the other hand you share the baker’s attitude. Instead of thinking their is just one pie and everyone can only get their portion of it, sometimes bigger than our own. You feel there are many pies and more to be baked. We can share our success and help others who may need a few more bites.
Great post, hope your weekend is swell.
Thanks Bryce,
Hmmm, interesting. I am thinking about it in terms of young kids and their difficulty with sharing.
That is funny because in somethings I had the baker’s attitude from the start and in other’s I didn’t. More recently I am trying to cultivate it in blogging. At first I didn’t trust it and certainly did not put it into practice. It has only been in the last month that I have embraced and trust the concept fully.
Interestingly, I just read this great post by Vic at Hang In There about making connections that really spoke to your point.
Thanks. Have a great weekend too.
I am off to get more pies. :-)
Hi Lisa,
Good post. When I encounter people with a lack mentality, I urge them to stop talking and thinking about lack and powerfully choose to change. I also suggest that they get around people who speak prosperity, believe in miracles and think abundance.
Thank you Rachel. What we think, we become. We also become like those who we hang around with. I am a firm believer that if there is something that I want to cultivate in myself that someone else has, I need to hang around them. Just as positive people will bring more positivity into our lives, negative people will bring negativity. Great suggestions. Have a good rest of the weekend. :-)
Hi Lisa
Great site, and this post offers wonderful suggestions. Shifting attitude, moment by moment, where the true power resides, is transformative. Counting blessings is a particularly powerful practice. Staying in a state of gratitude keeps us resonating at a higher frequency.. so important, especially during these challenging times.
Hi Antonia,
Thank you for stopping by. Our frequency is what it is all about. It is important to monitor our intentions so that we attract what we want. The more you practice gratitude, the easier it becomes. :-)
LIsa,
This was fantastic! You are so right. The world doesn’t owe us a darn thing! We are here to experience living in the physical world. The experiences we create are our responsibility alone. If we wish to experience abundance and success we must toil in the physical world and create it. Just wishing or thinking positively will not yield what we desire alone.
Great article and great tips!
Thanks Angela.
It is up to us to create the kinds of experiences we want to have. Wishing, dreaming, imagining are all good things, but the only thing that will make the difference is action. :-)
Hi Lisa,
It’s like many of us are brought up to believe that the world owes us something. Once I went out on my own at the age of 23 I learned that to get to where we want to be takes a lot of hard work and persistence.
And you nailed it with gratitude. By being grateful we attract to us more things to be grateful for.
Very true, many of us were brought up to believe that the world owes us something. Good thing you learned this lesson at 23. One of my coworkers told me that two of his brothers moved back home. They are in their mid forties. I am not saying that we shouldn’t get help when we need it, I am saying that we shouldn’t expect others to take care of us and meet our needs.
Hi Lisa,
I try to live in abundance all the time. In fact, I have a little mantra that I say if I’m feeling a little panicky which is “I am abundance. I am abundance. I am abundance.” I always say it three times (I’m not sure why… kind of like fairy tales doing everything in 3′s). Glad to have found your website (through Angela).
Hi Betsy,
Welcome! Thank you for stopping by. Angela has such a great blog. I love reading her content. That is a great mantra. Mantras are so simple, yet they work so well. LOL. I also have a thing with saying things three times. In fact, three is my favorite number. :-)