A Life of Abundance
As I shared in one of my first posts, I choose a single word at the beginning of each new year to help me stay focused and grounded throughout the rest of that year. Last year, my chosen word was “Believe”. I could not have known or anticipated how much I would need that word as an anchor throughout 2021. On March 3, 2021, I walked away from a 20-year career as a corporate HR Business Partner and embarked on a new path. I started a boutique business coaching and consulting firm. My word of the year was a constant reminder that if I believed that I could, then it was possible.
As I reflect on 2021, I realized that for as much as I chose the word Believe—I think that the word also chose me. It's as if it was gently calling and nudging me towards my purpose. The word that found me for 2022 is “Abundance”. Here’s what I think it means for me: Living in abundance, I will make choices as if the opportunities are endless. I will be more giving, because I believe my resources to be limitless. I can extend more grace, because the well is bottomless. I won’t have to be in competition with others for my opportunities, because there is always enough to go around. I’ll never need to doubt my own knowledge base, because I was designed for continuous learning. By living in abundance, I can extend more kindness to myself and others, create more joy and be more creative. On my personal journey to living a life of abundance, there are three fundamental principles that I have found to be extremely helpful:
Knowing the difference between your scope of control and your sphere of influence
Establishing a practice of gratitude
Committing to a growth mindset
Looking back, I can see that I didn’t always live my life from a place of abundance. I used to be someone who valued control above most other things. Over time, my life experiences taught me that control is a deceptive illusion. I have come to realize that we all have a very small scope of control. However, if we do a good job of focusing on things that are within our scope of control, then our sphere of influence grows. We ignite the greatest amount of influence, by focusing on our own journey of self-development. For example, if I am attempting to establish trust with someone, I can’t force it to happen. It’s only when I repeatedly do what I say I will do– that others will come to trust and rely on me to honor my commitments. Keeping my word is within my scope of control; having people trust me is a result of my sphere of influence. I can’t make anyone trust me, and it is unproductive to focus my energy on whether or not someone does. Ultimately, I’ll get a better result by spending my energy on role modeling what it looks like to be someone who can be trusted. My reach will extend well past the one person that I intended to establish trust with, because everyone else who is observing will also see that I have a pattern of honoring commitments. They too, will be indirectly influenced to trust me as well. In general, the few things that you can control are your attitude, how you choose to spend your time and energy, and how you respond to the environment around you. If you visualize this as a donut, then your scope of control is the donut hole. The scope of control is small compared to the rest of the donut (your sphere of influence). However, when you live in the donut hole you can “be more”, without “doing more”. This leaves opportunity and space for you to be more creative and productive, without the stress of trying to carry the weight of unpredictable outcomes or the reactions of others.
Whatever you focus on will grow.
Abundance will bloom whenever you feed it positivity and gratitude.
If you follow me on social media or read my blogs regularly, you know that I love quotes. One of my favorites,by Eckhart Tolle, is “Acknowledging the good that you already have in your life is the foundation for all abundance.” No matter what is happening in your life personally or professionally, there is always something to be thankful for. I have a personal practice of starting my day by giving thanks for at least ten things that I am grateful for, before I begin my work day. This helps me to set the tone for the rest of my day, and to put things into perspective. When I began this practice, I was overcomplicating it. After a few years, I’ve learned to keep it simple. My gratitude list always includes the unusual cast of characters that I call family and friends, my health, and the brand new day ahead of me. Sometimes, it includes things like the lady at the grocery store that stayed late so that I could return a five-dollar carton of spoiled milk. The point is to focus on the wins in your life, no matter how large or small they may be. There is a basic life principle at play here: whatever you focus on will grow. Abundance will bloom whenever you feed it positivity and gratitude. The bonus is that this practice is something that is 100% within your scope of control!
Living a life of abundance starts with committing to a growth mindset.
Living a life of abundance starts with committing to a growth mindset. A growth mindset, as opposed to a fixed mindset, is focused on the possibilities instead of the problems. “Whatever you focus on will grow.” If you choose to focus on the problems, then you will very likely find yourself in a field of problems instead of a field of dreams. However, if you shift your focus to the possibilities, then you will be amazed at how many options are right in front of you. Operating with a growth mindset means you are consistently focused on how you “can”: “I can create solutions” or “I can achieve exceptional results.” Once you tell your mind that you “can” do something, it sets about the task to make it happen. When potential obstacles arise, ask yourself, “what is the opportunity here” or “what can I learn from this?” Raise the bar from a place of self-development, rather than being mired down by comparison and competition with others. A growth mindset is all about continuous growth in a healthy, sustainable and purpose-driven way. Being deliberate about choosing growth over stagnation is the key that unlocks the door to abundance.
“Focus your energy on everything that feeds your purpose, deepens your peace, and fuels a positive mindset. Everything else is wasted energy.”
The School of Greatness podcast’s host, Lewis Howes, said: “Focus your energy on everything that feeds your purpose, deepens your peace, and fuels a positive mindset. Everything else is wasted energy.” Living abundantly is more about focusing your energy on the things that keep you in alignment with your purpose than continually striving for outcomes. The results will come when we are good stewards of the things within our scope of control. Your sphere of influence will grow with compound interest when you consistently model the values that are most important to you. Knowing that everything is temporary will give you the perspective needed to make the hard choices that lead to growth. With this mindset of growth, you will have no regrets because, in the end, you will know that you left it all on the field.
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