Your mindset can be your greatest asset – or your worst enemy. If you live in fear and lack, you attract more of that experience into your life. If you live with an abundance mindset, more abundance comes into your life and positive things changes can happen for you more quickly.
Keep an Open Mind
One example that I hear a lot is around finding clients. New business owners really struggle to figure out how to do this well. They do everything they can to bring in new clients, but nothing seems to work. And when they get discouraged, they start to doubt themselves and everything they’re doing, instead of staying patient and waiting for some momentum to build.
It’s an easy thing to understand––we are used to thinking that we’ll get instant results. But unfortunately, that’s not usually how it works as a new business owner. And I hear from a lot of business owners who equate success to dollars. If money and sales are your only benchmark for success, you’re going to be missing a lot of other wins you could be celebrating along the way. And it’s these little wins that eventually turn into dollars.
As a new business owner, you have to trust that what you’re doing will bring you results, at least enough to not switch things up immediately. Here’s the thing about pivoting––if you do it too quickly, you won’t have enough time to actually assess what you’re doing properly. It’s like doing a science experiment and constantly changing your variables. You won’t know what’s working until you give it a chance. So if you’re testing a new marketing method, you’ll want to give it a few weeks or months before you proclaim that it’s not the right method for you.
I’d like to share with you six practices that can help you shift into an abundance mentality.
Go from Lack to an Abundance Mentality
1) Gratitude.
When in doubt, be grateful for what you already have. Even when you think you have it bad, remember:
“If you have food in your fridge, clothes on your back, a roof over your head and a place to sleep you are richer than 75% of the world.
If you have money in the bank, your wallet, and some spare change you are among the top 8% of the world’s wealthy.
If you woke up this morning with more health than illness you are more blessed than the million people who will not survive this week.”
– Elephant Journal
When you’re having a tough moment, take the time to list out three things you’re grateful for, in your life and business. It will remind you that you really do live an amazing life and just being alive is a precious gift.
2) Stop acting as if you don’t have enough.
When you feel lack, do the thing that scares you anyway. Let’s say you worry about not having enough money. Is it possible for you to be generous with what you do have?
Can you donate a small amount every year to a charitable organization or help someone in need? Or if you want to take an online class or course, can you challenge yourself to look at that as an investment in your future self vs. something that’s taking your money away?
Here’s what I’ve learned about money: it’s just a vehicle, or an exchange of energy. So if you’re uptight about your money and trying to hold onto every last cent of it, that energy will permeate your business––from coming across as desperate when you talk to new clients, to not wanting to invest in your business and stopping yourself from growing, to possibly not charging what you’re worth because you think people won’t work with you if you raise your rates. Instead, if you just let it flow a bit more, and not try and hold on so tight, it will help you change your own energy to be more abundant.
3) Check your language.
Instead of saying:
“I’ll never be able to make my business a success,” say: “If I put the work in, my business will thrive.”
“I don’t have time to do what I love,” say: “I have the same amount of time as everyone else and will make myself a priority.”
“My job sucks. It drains the life out of me,” say: “I’m happy for the financial stability my job provides me and I’m learning some new tools that will be helpful for my future.”
You get the idea. Just reframe whatever it is you’re saying to yourself or others into something with more positivity and possibilities.
4) Visualize your future and then take surrendered action.
Take a moment to step into what you really want. If you can dream it, you can probably have it. It doesn’t mean you’ll just wake up one day and be living your dream life. You’ll still have to put the work in, but it may come to you easier than you expected once you’ve set your intentions and put that energy into the Universe. It may not play out exactly the way you envision it going, but it’s not up to you to determine exactly HOW it will happen. Just trust that you will find the answers you need by trusting your intuition and continuing to take the next best step.
In order to create your vision, you’ll want to get quiet and start writing out your perfect moment in whatever area you’re trying to create. So, if it’s that new business you’re working on, imagine yourself sitting in your beautiful office, down to the last detail.
What are you wearing, what do you see, hear, smell? What does your wall look like, what is your view? The more detail, the better. How are you feeling in your body?
Do you see thank you cards from your clients or presents from them? Write out a few pages and then refine it so that you’re writing only positive, inspiring words. Once you get to something that you’re happy with, record it. Play this vision for yourself every time you work on your business. It will help remind you what you’re working towards.
And take small steps on a daily basis to move towards that dream.
5) Remind yourself of your successes.
“The average two-year-old falls 38 times a day while they’re learning to walk.”
VEIPD.org
You wouldn’t call them a failure, would you?
It’s easy to get caught in the weeds and in your failures when you’re building something big. And humans have an innate negativity bias where we remember the negatives instead of the positives. So instead of looking at all the things that are going wrong, get out a notebook and start listing your successes, no matter how small they are. Do this on a weekly basis and remember that if you’re doing something new, you’re likely growing and learning along the way, and that is just part of the process you’ll need to accept.
We’re not meant to succeed all the time – and the biggest growth can happen by understanding why you failed at something. Also remember that all those stories you hear of entrepreneurs making it big time may be leaving out the 10,000 hours they put in and all the failed business ventures they had before. Just trust that you’re learning and be patient with yourself.
6) Serve others.
Sometimes, we need to remind ourselves that our problems really aren’t that big in comparison to others. Spend a day working at a food kitchen or building a house for someone less fortunate than you, and you’ll realize that you really do have a lot. Many of us are stuck in our heads about what’s not working in our life and when we take some time to help others, we get the perspective we need to move forward. We also become more grateful for what we do have and how lucky we are.
I remember spending a hot, muggy August day helping to build someone’s house with a well-known nonprofit organization and feeling pretty tired at the end of the day. I signed up on a whim the night before after talking to an acquaintance at a tennis round robin I was part of. He told me I’d have to be there by 6am, so I made sure I got some sleep as soon as got home from tennis. As my volunteering time was wrapping up the next day, I was sweeping the floor as part of the cleanup we did. The new homeowner saw me and said, “That’s my new floor you’re sweeping!” He had a huge smile on his face and I could feel his immense gratitude. That’s all I needed to hear to know the impact we made on him and his family that day.
As I was driving home, I failed to come to a full stop at a stop sign right by my house because I was pretty tired from getting up early and working the whole day and I wasn’t paying enough attention. The police officer asked me to explain myself and I told him I was just getting back from volunteering and was a bit tired. He let me go with just a warning. Maybe that’s karma, maybe it’s luck – I don’t really care. The Universe provided for me in more ways than one that day.
There’s Always a Silver Lining
So, remember, your mindset is all that really needs to change in order to start feeling more abundance. Chances are, you already are abundant, you just need to start believing it.
And don’t worry, even coaches feel lack sometimes. It turns out, building a new business can bring up lots of limiting beliefs (around money, your own self-worth and experience, lack of ideal clients) that need to be transformed so that you don’t run into the same thing over and over again.
It’s about realizing that this block you are feeling is actually a chance to grow and recognizing it for what it is instead of letting it stop you. I wouldn’t take back any of the obstacles that have come up for me––once I work through them for myself, I know how to work with them in my clients. So it’s a win/win. And the same goes for you––if there’s an area of your life where you feel lack, there’s always room to grow into a new way of being. And through your learnings, you may even be able to help others in this area in the future.
Are you looking for more support in moving into an abundance mindset and achieving your dreams? Sign up for complimentary call today.