MaXIMIze - Abundance vs. Lack

As we move through the season of Lent, we should ponder if we are coming from a place of abundance or from a place of lack.

What we perceive and believe we achieve.

If we think and feel we are small, we draw small things into our lives.

If we believe in big things and that we can do big things, we draw big things into our lives.

For example, some of my biggest issues have been in the area of money, of finances. A lot of that is mired in my childhood. I'd ask for something specific that I wanted and I would get either what my parents thought they could afford, or - and closer to reality - what they thought I "ought" to have. So I learned that perhaps I wasn't worthy of having what I truly wanted, and that I could never afford it anyway. So, for many years, I settled.

I settled for perceived security instead of true partnership in relationships.

I settled for second hand or second class items instead of what it was I really wanted to have.

I settled for a multitude of things rather than true abundance - the kind that comes from non-material things.

I settled for a life of lack instead of a life of abundance.

My soul, my Self, never settled though. She was always restless, always knowing there was more for me out there. She just had to wait until enough tools came into my life and enough belief came into my mind and heart to push me toward that abundance.

That relationship with money I touched on earlier? Well, now I truly believe what I clipped from a program at a Center for Spiritual Living service nearly ten years ago now. It says:

Is money a naughty word?

No, it just means

More
Opulent
Natural
Energy
Yeah!

During the last month of last year, a long and painful chapter in my financial story hit its climax. There are still some loose ends to tie up, as there are at the end of every story, however, I am truly ready to move on to the next chapter in my financial life and good things are already happening in that area!

So, what is appearing in your life - a sense of abundance or a sense of lack?

Ponder that for the week and see what truths come to you…

With next week comes March and the topics of motivation, unintended consequences, sowing seeds, and planning.

Watch for my daily messages on Facebook, and until next time - Namaste!

MaXIMIze - The Power of Words

As we approach the season of Lent - beginning on Wednesday, February 18th this year - it is important that we remember the power of words.

Words have power, mighty power, whether they are written, spoken, or thought. Words are also a conduit for energy in our lives - positive energy and negative energy.

Albert Einstein said, "Energy cannot be created or destroyed, it can only be changed from one form to another."

This flows along with the Special Feature I posted last year about a pastor who suggested to his flock that they focus on giving up bad behaviors that bring negative energy into their lives rather than the usual things they forgo during Lent - things like chocolate, alcohol, dessert, etc.

Also, near the beginning of last year, I posted about Personal Prose and showed the difference between power words and poison words. I provided a list of power words to replace the poison ones with in that post.

My goal during this year's season of Lent is to post daily inspirational snippets to encourage the transformation of negatives into positives in your life so you can live your best life now!

Here are some examples of what I'll be posting, with thoughts and examples for each:

Change "I'd love to…" into "I'm going to…"

Transform drama into action.

Move from lack to abundance.

Transmute denial into acceptance.

If you would like to contribute to these, feel free to share your thoughts with me either via email or by commenting on this post.

Change your language, change your life!

Until next time, Namaste!

MaXIMIze - Optimism vs. Action

I recently read an interview of Gabrielle Oettingen, author of Rethinking Positive Thinking, by Magdalena Puniewska in The Atlantic magazine.

In this interview, Ms. Oettingen talks about a process she calls "mental contrasting" - visualizing the goal one wants to reach and then going through all the potential roadblocks to reaching that goal.

This outlook or concept is actually right in line with my coaching training and practice, as noted in the posts from this time last year on identifying roadblocks and assessing them.

Optimism and the power of positive thinking are wonderful tools, however they are only one set of tools, one piece of the puzzle as it were. While we need the belief we can attain our goals, no matter how lofty, we also need the realism to identify potential roadblocks and obstacles in our path to those goals.

This is called planning, and planning is the first step in taking goals from daydreams to reality.

Moving from dreaming to doing means being able not only to visualize where you want to be but also to be able to plan out the "how" - plan out the route to get from where you are now to where you want to be. And that means being able to identify potential roadblocks, obstacles, and issues. When you plan for a trip, you take into account traffic flow during certain parts of the day and weather conditions during certain parts of the year, right? Plotting the course from where you are now to where you want to be in life takes the same tools and skills as planning a trip.

Now to get to the title of this post - Optimism vs. Action. I know I said we'd talk about optimism versus pessimism, however when I read that article my focus shifted.

Yes, we need the optimism to dream and aim high much more than we need the pessimism of potential failure. We also need the action of planning and moving forward down our path rather than staying in the dream state of simply visualizing our rosy future.

Remember having to answer the five questions - WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN, and HOW - in English class during writing assignments?

Well, you are the WHO. That vision of your rosy future is the WHAT and the WHERE.  The planning is the HOW, and moving forward down the path toward your future is the WHEN.

Now write your story; live your best life now!

Until next time, Namaste!

MaXIMIze - Practicing Extreme Self-Care

Yes, I know, I said we'd touch on several topics this month, including optimism vs. pessimism, abundance, and lack - and we will. However, February is the month of love - the 14th is Valentine's Day after all - and who should we foster an attitude of love and forgiveness with and for most of all? Ourselves!

We should be our own biggest cheerleaders, keeping ourselves focused on the "Yes, And" thoughts. In fact, we should be our own head cheerleader, gathering around us a team of other cheerleaders who support and encourage our goals and dreams.

I know I've said it before, however it warrants repeating over and over again - if you've ever flown, you've heard the flight attendance tell us, in case of emergency, to put on our own oxygen masks before helping those around us put on theirs.

In order to help others grow and thrive, we need to help ourselves grow and thrive first. We need to be a light unto our own path in life.

How can we save someone else if we are drowning ourselves?

So I ask you this - how are your practicing extreme self-care in your life?

Until next time, love thyself.

Namaste!