"Like the air you breathe, abundance in all things is available to you. Your life will simply be as good as you allow it." - Abraham Hicks
Think about your idea of abundance or having more than enough of something. If you asked me a few years ago, my first thought would be monetary abundance, career success, and more vacation days. Having financial stability and a certain number in my bank account so I could feel good about myself and travel to all the places I wanted to go. Plus, having a job title that allowed me to feel accomplished and successful. I have begun to broaden that definition though. Now abundance to me is more about time and freedom. An abundance of joy, connection, and choice. Abundance in this way feels a bit unstable and still more grounded than I felt before. While I still crave financial stability (my expensive habit of traveling isn't going away anytime soon!), I'm working on viewing abundance differently, and this definition broadens my focus to other areas of my life.
When you hear the word abundance, what first comes to mind? For most of us, including me, it is money. Expand out of the shoulds and any limiting beliefs or stories we like to tell ourselves. Think about what you want more of. Maybe abundance for you in this stage of your life is financial. It could also be health, love, creativity, space, adventure, etc. Select 1-2 things that if you had more of them in your life, you would feel satisfied. If you are stumped on where to begin, think about your core values. Aligning where you'd like more abundance with your core values helps you understand where to focus and when more abundance is received, feel content and fulfilled. Our definition of abundance will change over time. Yet, it is important to know what abundance you want to grow right now. This lets you prioritize and make better decisions that resonate with those priorities.
The basis of abundance is the practice of gratitude. Yes, a gratitude journal or writing a few things you are grateful for every day is a wonderful place to begin and provides you a beautiful record to reflect on in the future. Practicing gratitude goes beyond that. It is the belief and feeling that everything you currently have in life you are truly thankful for. Even the hard stuff. Even the little stuff. It is about looking at all the areas in your life and feeling blessed that they are happening for you. Truly feeling grateful changes your mindset from one of lack and not enough to one of recognizing the beautiful things in your life.
To feel and be more abundance, let go of comparison. This is maybe the hardest one for me! I grew up with a very competitive nature and that is still stuck inside me. Truthfully, I compare myself to other people. A lot. I do recognize it and don't love it about myself. One of the reasons I think this happens is because I have a scarcity mindset. I think there isn't enough to go around so if I'm not excelling, I'm losing out on what I want. When I do some deep inner work though, the things I am often competitive around are things I don't want anyways. Getting honest with yourself about your true desires and where you want abundance can help you release comparison. Plus remembering that everyone is unique and when we connect instead of compete, life gets better.
Self-worth is key for abundance. If we don't believe we are worthy of having more of what we desire, chances are we will never receive it. Think about why you don't believe you are worthy of abundance? For me, it's feelings of guilt that I already have enough compared to many other people around the world. I also doubt I am good enough to receive anything else, like my luck has run out. These are big feelings that won't go away overnight! However, recognizing that I do have guilt and doubt, then reframing my mindset to one of self-worth is key to receiving my own abundance. Know that you too are worthy of great things!
Remember there are some things just out of your control. I have been in a spot where I think I did everything "right" - both the internal and external work. And still, the things I wanted to call into my life just weren't coming. I wasn't seeing an abundance of XYZ. Maybe it just isn't the right time or maybe it just isn't going to happen how I thought it would. In that instance, I can choose to be pissed off or I can reframe. I can go back to what I am grateful for and remind myself that the external world is out of my control. I can choose to trust good things will come. We all have the choice of either wallowing in what we can't control or choosing to have faith.
Do you think there is abundance in the universe that is meant for you? I invite you to embrace new definitions of abundance that feel authentic to you. Often times, we are gripping to have more and feel a lack of abundance from outside forces because we don't feel a sense of internal stability. We aren't sure how to define what we really want. Ask yourself, are there ways you are feeling insecure in life? There are so many outside influences that can temporarily make us feel secure (or at least in control) yet if it comes from the outside or isn't rooted in our true desires, it fades. The real stability to measure our levels of abundance always comes from within.
