How To Create A Life (and Business) Full Of Joyful Abundance

A lot of us experience a lack in our lives. We never have enough money, enough time, enough sleep, or shoes, or friends, or holidays… Yet it is a fundamental law of physics that nature abhors a vacuum. There are not lacks in the world, only within us. There is an infinite amount of time, and we have the infinite capacity to be, do and have whatever we can imagine.

The gap we experience between the infinite possibility of nature and the lack of various things in life is one of perception. And it’s a point of view that does nothing but make us miserable.

We long for things while simultaneously believing those things are out of our reach. This sense of lack — a lack of money, of time, of love, of emotional fulfillment, of well-being. If we’re not careful we become a hot mess of anxiety for things we believe we need and will probably never have.

That’s a crippling mindset to get stuck in!

But what’s the alternative?

Creating An Abundant Mindset

Truly embracing the concept of abundance can be difficult because it’s so contrary to this ‘lacking’ mindset the modern world has created. Abundance is (or at least, should be) a concept that touches all areas of life and work. From money to love, friendship and family, space and time.

Welcoming abundance into your life is the game-changer you need to move past the feeling that you’re missing something, and instead embrace the joy in life. Embrace your gloriousness.

Abundance runs on the very simple principle that nature abhors a vacuum, coupled with the belief that we are all capable of creating everything we might need or want.

The only thing you need to do to create abundance in your life is change your mindset. Move away from viewing the world as being full of things you lack, and towards the belief that it’s full of possibilities. While this may be ‘all’ you need to do, it can be incredibly difficult, especially if you’re really locked into that feeling of things being unfair, and the world, in general, being against you.

We’ve all felt like that at some point, and it’s so easy to get stuck in that place. So how do you break free and create an abundance mindset?

Turn Negativity Into Positive Action

Rather than accepting we’re subject to the whims of fate, and must endure the ups and downs of life, abundance allows us to turn negativity into positive action.

What are you feeling negative about today? Pick one thing — just one — that’s really dragging you down in negativity. And before the end of the day, take a single positive action to dispel some of that negativity and shift your perception of that thing that’s pulling you down.

If you’re stuck for a positive action you can take, here are a few easily-implemented ideas that can easily be applied to most situations:

• Ask for help if you need it
• Accept a situation can’t be fixed, and walk away from it.
• Stand up for yourself, what you believe, and what you want.
• Look at what caused the negative situation — did you create it, and is this a pattern?
• Speak your mind, and speak your truth.
• Seek out advice from someone wise whom you trust.
• Lower your stress levels by doing something relaxing, or getting some exercise
• Consider if there’s anything about the situation that can be fixed, and fix them!

Even taking a small action that contributes to a positive change in something that is making you feel negative has a huge impact. Small actions become massive progress.

Seek An Outside Perspective

When we’re feeling bad about something, stuck in a negative situation, or worrying about things we tend to withdraw and turn our focus inwards. There’s the feeling that your problems are your own, and you should deal with them. There’s also often a sense of shame, that the lack you are feeling is somehow your fault. It can make us reluctant to share our situation, our fears, worries and feelings, because we don’t want to be judged for them.

But often, seeking an outside perspective from a person you trust, especially a person who is particularly knowledgeable about your situation, is a great way to gain some clarity.

Often things aren’t as dire as they appear. Frequently there are solutions to our problems and we simply can’t see them, because we’re too close to the issue, or don’t believe we’re capable of extricating ourselves from it.

The problem isn’t always that we can’t see the possibility for change, but rather than we don’t believe we are capable of making that change, or worthy of a more positive outcome.

An outside perspective won’t get hung up on your insecurities, fears, and limiting beliefs.

Ask for someone else’s opinion.

Resist The Temptation To Indulge Your Negativity

How often have you indulged in a little bit of pity partying, either with yourself, or to a friend?

It often makes us feel better to talk through our problems, but there’s a point where we start to wallow in the negativity of it all. We tell the same story repeatedly, to anyone who will listen, and in the absence of an audience, we tell it to ourselves.

Over and over, on an endless loop. Every little detail.

This is where negative beliefs come from. A belief is nothing more than a thought we have thought repeatedly. If you have a negative thought, and let it run round and round in your head, say it over and over again, think on it, dwell on it, constantly berate yourself over it, you quickly internalise the negativity.

A single situation in which you felt helpless leads to the belief that you are helpless.

A single instance of irresponsibility leads you to the belief that you are an irresponsible person.

Finding yourself without enough money, without enough time, without enough company or love or compassion, quickly degenerates into the belief that you’re never going to have enough of those things, because you’re not worthy of those things.

They’re just not on the cards for you.

Breaking the cycle and pulling yourself out of a negative spiral is tough, but it’s essential. If something happens that makes you feel that lack, accept it as a moment in time, and let it pass you by.

Don’t dwell on it.

Expand Your Awareness

Our capacity for awareness is our greatest asset. As with everything in the universe, that capacity is infinite, though we are often (ironically) unaware we possess this limitless awareness.

Expanding your awareness of yourself, others, your situation and the world at large is something you can consciously get into the habit of doing. The more you try, the more easily that expansion will occur, and the more you will do it automatically. Eventually, it becomes an unconscious process that continually happens as you move through life, but you have to kickstart the process.

Our awareness opens us up to all the possibilities of the universe. When you’re relaxed and open to it, your natural awareness is capable of seeing a lot further, and in far greater detail than you might believe.

Set aside a little time every day and devote it to expanding your horizons and seeing just how far they go. Settle into a relaxed state, and allow yourself to feel peaceful. To simply be for a time. Remain as open as possible and take stock, first of your internal situation — your body, mind and spirit — and then of your literal situation — your physical location and the adventures and challenges you are currently facing.

Try to examine both from every angle, considering all perspectives (even contradictory ones) as if they were your own point of view. Take possession of all aspects of your life, including your thoughts and feelings, and let go of anything that may be blocking you emotionally or psychologically.

This isn’t a fast or easy process, it’s something you will need to work at. But just a little time spent consciously raising your awareness will quickly go a long way. Remember to be passionate about everything in your life, and all your experiences (even the negative ones), as each and every instance, is the opportunity to further expand your horizons and accept more input from the universe.

Dream Big

One of the wonderful side-effects of embracing an abundant mindset and opening yourself up to a wider awareness of the world is the number of possibilities that appear as a result. It’s easy to have dreams of being rich, or famous, but if you know anyone who genuinely is either you’ve likely observed the ‘miserably rich’ phenomenon. People often accumulate material abundance in the belief it will make them happy and whole. They achieve their greatest dream, of being that wealthy, or becoming that star, only to find it’s a lonely, even empty experience.

Fulfillment does not come from without, but from within.

The more aware you become of the world the higher your capacity to dream greater dreams grows. And once you’ve fully embraced your abundant mindset and are happy to accept that you can be, do and have anything you desire, it’s no longer dangerous to image your biggest, most elaborate dream.

We often resist big dreams when we’re living in a state of lack, because they seem like a cruel catalogue of all the things we will never have. Now that you’ve broken free of this limiting mindset, permit yourself to dream extensively.

And when you no longer need to devote lots of time to taking positive action to dispel your negative beliefs (it becomes automatic after a while!), start taking positive action to further those dreams.

Originally published at https://optimiseandgrowonline.com.au on April 14, 2019.