Abundance Mindset: 5 Steps for Transforming Your Life

Have you ever spent a day watching your thoughts, and realized just how many of them aren’t serving you? They’ll say things like:

 "I’m hungry. What should I eat? I shouldn’t eat. I just ate and I’m trying to cut back. Maybe I’ll have a salad. Wait, I’m out of salad. I could go to the store, but I don’t want to spend money. I need to be making more money. Why am I not making more money? Is there something wrong with me? There’s definitely something wrong with me..."

There is nothing wrong with you and you're not alone.

As humans, we tend to seek growth. We desire to better ourselves, those close to us, our children, and our children's children so they can be better off.

This constant desire to fix problems can create a state of anxiety. If our state of mind creates our experience, let us choose one of abundance.

Abundance Mindset is Not About Ignoring Problems

If we are looking for problems we will find that they never end. What if instead we were actively seeking things like beauty, synchronicity, connection, and magic?

Living with a Abundance Mindset is about filtering out the self-made problems and viewing life's challenges with a lens that is inspirational rather than draining.

Michael Singer, author of The Untethered Soul, writes:

"You’re sitting on a planet spinning around in the middle of absolutely nowhere. Go ahead, take a look at reality. You’re floating in empty space in a universe that goes on forever. If you have to be here, at least be happy and enjoy the experience...You gain nothing by being bothered by life’s events. It doesn’t change the world; you just suffer. There’s always going to be something that can bother you, if you let it...Do not let anything that happens in life be important enough that you’re willing to close your heart over it."

Abundance Mindset is Not Optimism

A common misunderstanding is that being optimistic means being unrealistic.

While both mindsets use the power of positive thinking on life, Abundance Mindset is not optimism. Optimism is based off a series of expectations for the future, while Abundance Mindset applies on a moment-to-moment basis.

Abundance Mindset exists here and now. Optimism assumes things go our way.

Abundance Mindset Is:

1. An unconditional perspective that doesn’t depend on expectations being met.

2. Acknowledging the beauty and synchronicity that exists in every moment.

3. Recognizing that our challenges can actually facilitate our growth.

4. A fundamental understanding that our existence is an absolute miracle.

5 Steps for Transforming Your Life

Here are five ways to transition to an Abundance Mindset.

1. Witness your negative thought patterns.

Start reclaiming your power by recognizing you are not your thoughts - you are the one witnessing them. You get to choose if you want to believe them. 

One way to start witnessing your negative self-talk is through mindfulness meditation. Just sitting or laying comfortably, focusing on your breath, and letting the thoughts come to mind, observing them, and then letting them go.

Not only will this simple practice help us become aware of our negative thought patterns, but can improve our mental, physical, and physiological well-being. [1]

One journal summarizes the long list of benefits supported by recent science:

 “Studies have shown meditation to reduce perceived stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms, enhance quality of life, decrease sleep disturbance, improve several domains of cognition...increase blood flow, oxygen delivery, and glucose utilization in specific regions of the brain associated with mood elevation, memory, and attentional processing...In addition, recent research suggests that meditation programs can enhance immune response and clinical outcomes, and reduce blood pressure, insulin resistance and glucose intolerance, oxidative stress, inflammation, and other related risk indices.” [2]

Move beyond negative thoughts that hold you back, and step into harmony with your surroundings. You are more capable than you give yourself credit for.

2. Start a daily practice of gratitude.

Mindsets are like muscles, they must be strengthened. Our energy goes where our thoughts go, strengthening the neural network and making it easier to access.

Try starting and ending the day with what is going right for you. Just the act of giving thanks can improve your day enormously. 

3. Trace draining emotional states.

If you are in a draining emotional state, it’s because you are choosing it. You are buying into some underlying thought pattern.

Stream-of-consciousness writing can help you uncover unhelpful thought patterns. To try this activity at home, ask yourself what is causing your emotional state and write it down without judgment or stopping to read it back.

4. Choose a more supportive self-talk.

Mindful.org describes four types of self-talk:

1. Catastrophizing

2. Blaming

3. Rehashing

4. Rehearsing

When you find yourself playing the, "what if," game, blaming yourself, dwelling on the past, or playing future scenarios out in your mind, come back to your breath and encourage yourself to see the current challenge as an opportunity to grow. Over time, a mindfulness practice will positive effect your self-esteem. [3]

5. Follow your joy.

Choosing a mindset of abundance is a daily practice and a life-long journey. Surround yourself with people that support you. Spend time in places that open your heart and mind to love. Experience the beauty in all aspects of life.