Motivation Articles

 

The Abundance Book: A Personal Growth Tool
to Point You Toward Joy and Fulfillment
By Amy Phillips-Gary

In our local suburban newspaper I recently read an
inspiring column. The author, Pat Snyder, shares her
method for dealing with the dire news and challenges that
seem so rampant in these times. Whether it's the
uncertainty of the stock market or just getting through a
family gathering, what you choose to focus your attention
on can make all the difference.

Ms. Snyder describes her practice of keeping an abundance
book as a record and reminder of all that's going well in
her world. She literally writes down a few words to
describe experiences that felt good to her that day and
were evidence-- in her eyes-- of abundance having arrived.
I think this is wonderful advice! I'm going to give this
personal growth tool a try and see how great it can feel
when I give more of my attention to the positive abundance
already going on in my own life.

Here's how it can work for you too....

Start your own abundance book.
Dig out the pretty journal that someone gave you or you
purchased months ago intending to write in. If you don't
have a journal lying around, you might have a plain
notebook you could use. Or, if you want to, purchase a
notebook or journal expressly for this purpose. This is
now your official "abundance book"-- congratulations! You
are on your way to more fully experiencing the richness and
joy of life!

Set a goal that you will record all of the great (or even
marginally good) things that happen in and around you for a
particular period of time. You might choose to do this
every day for a week, two weeks, a month or even more. Ms.
Snyder reported that she kept her abundance book for a
whole year.

Begin with the small and easy stuff.
If, when you look at the blank pages of your abundance
book, you are at a loss for what to write, don't worry.
Sometimes we get so "skilled" at looking for the dismal
downsides and drawbacks in our lives, it can be tough to
see the glimmers of hope and fulfillment. You might choose
to begin with the small and easy to see abundance in your
life.

Perhaps you are out of work and lately your life feels
like a comedy of errors (that's not very funny). It may be
a challenge but see if there's something, anything at all,
that feels positive right now. It could be that even in
the midst of these difficulties, you receive a pleasing
phone call from a friend. Write down in your abundance
book that you have this great friend in your life.

There are so many examples of abundance in just about
everyone's life that we simply take for granted. The
steaming hot shower I get to take every morning is an
example of abundance. The smell of freshly baked cookies in
my oven is another that brings me joy. A hug and kiss I
share with my partner is another moment of abundance.

This isn't about making yourself feel guilty because you
have "so much" and others around the world, or even your
own city, have so little. The point here is to start
reminding yourself of all of the things you can feel happy
and joyful about and then build upon those feelings. This
isn't about being selfish, gluttonous or greedy either.
The more you can receive life's various riches, the more
you can share them with others-- if even in the form of a
smile you beam at perfect strangers walking down the street.

Practice looking for abundant moments.
As you move through your days, weeks, or months of keeping
an abundance book it will probably get easier to spot
evidence of abundance. You might even find yourself
surrounded by more and more of what you want than you've
ever experienced before. This is the way the law of
attraction works!

Even if you don't notice an increase in positive abundance
in your life and world, keep practicing. Perhaps things
seem to be improving for you and then something unwanted
and unexpected happens. Maybe you or a loved one gets sick,
you experience a financial setback, or a relationship
encounters difficulties. During times like these, it can
feel especially challenging to notice the "good" stuff.

It can seem like there just isn't anything going right in
your life. Pretty soon the pages of your abundance book are
blank again and the whole notebook or journal gets tossed
aside. Try to keep to whatever your initial goal was with
this exercise no matter what bumps or resistance come up.
If necessary, return to recording the simple, easy stuff
and build from there.

The big lesson here is that you may not be able to control
the stock market, your boss, your kids, the climate,
politics or whatever it is that appears to have you at its
mercy. What you can do-- and what keeping an abundance
book can help you remember-- is you can always shift your
attitude and perception.

You can always choose to face a different direction and
feel just a little bit better than you did the moment
before.

At the end of your abundance book experiment you might
decide to keep going. Even if you set that journal
recording the riches in your life on a shelf for awhile, I
bet you'll keep practicing looking for what's going right
for you. Regardless of what you might hear in the news or
what you may used to have believed, this world-- and your
own life-- is a richly abundant place. There is no reason
not to live your life as joyfully as you can in each
moment. So what are you waiting for?!
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To read Pat Snyder's blog about abundance visit:
http://www.balancingactpat.blogspot.com/
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Amy Phillips-Gary is a free-lance writer, homeschool mom and personal growth adventurer.




 

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