Note from Andrew: I really enjoy writing for all of you beautiful people, but occasionally I find something out on the web that I just need to share with you. Here’s another great piece of work by Steve Pavlina. I’ve shared the first part of his article here, but feel free to
click through to read the rest!
After reading this, I realized how deeply this message needs to be heard, so I would very highly recommend taking your time as you read through this. There are keys to true happiness and abundance in almost every paragraph!
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Learn to notice and appreciate the hidden abundance obscured by scarcity and lack, and more abundance will flow to you.
Although I enjoy some very nice abundance in my life today (time freedom, work I love, travel, wonderful friends, amazing kids), I don’t need anything in particular to feel rich. As I see it, I attracted these things into my life because I learned to cultivate a relationship with life based on appreciation and gratitude before all of this showed up.
Appreciation
Years ago when I was broke and experiencing quite a lot of lack, I focused on deepening my appreciation for simple things: a long walk at night, a warm hug, the sensual experience of a sweet piece of fruit, etc.
Beyond that, I also looked for ways to appreciate the painful parts of my life, and especially for the amazing growth lessons they contained.
I allowed myself to appreciate my colorblindness; I see the world differently than most. I gave myself permission to see the good in being arrested multiple times when I was a teenager; I can empathize with people who commit crimes without condemning them. I forgave myself for all the bad business decisions I made; I understand the temptation to focus on making money first and foremost.
If you perceive a sense of scarcity in your life right now, I feel for you. I can empathize with what you’re going through since I’ve been there myself. I know how stressful it can be. I used to have creditors calling me 10 times a day, asking “When can you make a payment?” I also know how frustrating it can be to keep seeking that next opportunity to finally make something happen, only to repeatedly watch your efforts crash and burn. I lived that way for years.
A Transformational Question
I pose to you a question that I found immensely transformational many years ago:
Is it possible for you to still enjoy your life even if your financial situation stays the same or even gets worse for the rest of your life?
When I asked myself that question, at first I wasn’t sure. But as I pondered it, I began to see that there’s so much more to life than money. Why center my happiness and sense of self-worth around something that reduces to a number in a computer database?
At the time, my number had a minus sign in front of it. And I had assumed that this tiny horizontal strip had the power to rob me of much of my enjoyment of life. I believed that without enough money flowing, I couldn’t fully enjoy my life. And so I created — yes, created — a lot of unnecessary stress and frustration for myself.
I determined that even if I stayed completely broke for my whole life, I could still enjoy my life immensely if I really committed myself to that. I could still enjoy great relationships, long walks, healthy food (which grows on trees), stimulating conversations, writing, hugs and affection, and even world travel. Other broke people had enjoyed all of those things. Why not me? I soon concluded that a lack of financial success could not prevent me from creating a very happy and abundant life. A minus sign simply didn’t have that kind of power, unless I yielded my own power to it.
That realization permanently transformed my relationship to money — and beyond that, to life itself. I no longer felt this clawing neediness to earn more money and to get out of debt. I stopped caring how much or how little I earned. I stopped using my income as my measure of success.
I decided to center my work around what I loved to do instead of around what I thought I needed to do to make money. That completely turned my financial life around within a year. To this day, money seems to flow into my life very easily. But even though I have more money flowing through my life today, I still don’t fuss over the numbers. I measure my success by my happiness and enjoyment of life, and this is under my control regardless of what’s going on in my finances.
It’s not the craving for more money that invites abundance. It’s the release of fear attached to being perpetually broke. Can you let go of your fear and resistance to being broke? Could you still enjoy your life even if you remained broke and in debt for the rest of your life? If you can do that, you will welcome the experience of true abundance into your life.
What good is abundance anyway if it can be ruined just by changing a number in a database? True abundance should be unconditional, should it not? If abundance can be threatened, it’s not abundance; it’s still scarcity.
Releasing Neediness
It isn’t hard to see that neediness is repulsive to people, and since money flows through people, neediness repels money too. The more you need money, the less you’ll have it. Haven’t you experienced this already?
How do you feel when people ask you for money, stating that they need it badly? Does their need stir loving generosity within you? Or does it make you clench up a bit? Maybe a mixture of both sometimes, depending on the circumstances?
When do you most enjoy giving? Do you love giving to the neediest people? Or would you rather give to those who will truly appreciate and value your gift the most?
The key to abundance is to stop needing more, and start appreciating what you already have.
Life can be very generous with those who cultivate a sense of appreciation. Even when it seems like you don’t have enough, could you allow yourself to perceive that perhaps you already have more than enough? Is it possible that you already have everything you need to be happy?
Have a joyful day!
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As promised earlier this week, I would like your help with a giving project.
