Today’s task: Cultivate a sense of peace in the present
Feeling so grateful for the time I got to share with others today. Between cooking chilaquiles with one friend and teaching a another how to use my sewing machine this evening, it was the ultimate day for cultivating a sense of peace in the present.
While I didn’t finish it, I started listening to a video about intention setting, and the difference they described between abundant people and non-abundant people. It all had to do with their frame of reference, or overall perception of their own abundance. And that abundant people are generous, even when they may have nothing monetary to give. They talked about a person being generous with their words, complimenting others, sharing with others what they know, and so many other ways that have nothing to do with money. It’s a way of being. This really struck me.
Because for the longest time, I feel like I’ve been generous with my words, and intentional about preserving friendships that matter. Making phone calls on a regular basis to the people who I care about to check in, see how they’re doing, what’s new in their life, etc. Complimenting others in the moment when I feel like it. Sharing what I know with others without any expectation that I get something back.
But I’ve failed to translate this to my own sense of financial security.
I think this might be where I’m getting stuck. And I’m still not 100% sure what it looks like to do that successfully.
I believe that there’s a clear connection between those who know how to live in the present and those who also identify as abundant – maybe not financially, but abundant. And if nothing else, I hope that you are able to take on this challenge and recognize that while yes, financial stability and getting yourself on stable footing is incredibly important, so too is cultivating an internal environment that attracts abundance.
One of the best things that I was reminded of while listening to the interview today was the idea that you must truly feel and believe what you set your intentions around in order for the intention to have any real impact or effect on your reality. It’s one thing to say ‘Yes!’ and have no real intention of follow-through, or real desire to do the thing. It’s another to feel in every cell of your body that your ‘Yes!’ is true for you and always will be.
Which brings us back to this question of alignment. Are your thoughts, actions, and intentions aligned? Or are you saying one thing, thinking another, and then doing something that wasn’t even on your mind originally? For those of us who have a thousand things going on in our heads at any given moment, and about three times as many activities that we’re managing, finding alignment can be hard. Why? Because if we’re doing so much all the time anyways, it’s easy to bounce from one activity to another and never really take stock of where you’re going, how much you’ve accomplished, and if it’s getting you closer to your long-term goal.
In fact, having so many things going on at once might actually be a coping strategy to avoid dealing with an underlying problem or emotion.
I’ve been known to fill my time unconsciously, not because I knew something was wrong that I needed to deal with, but simply because I love doing a lot of things. And when I enjoy it all, it doesn’t feel like work. So I keep doing it. And then I lose sight of how this might be perceived by others (always busy, never having time for them, juggling too much, not setting boundaries). Or worse yet, I might never actually deal with whatever emotional void/problem is causing me to distract myself from…myself.
Therapists are great for this. I highly recommend if you don’t have one already. 🙂
The point of all this is, find that activity that can help you find presence and peace with what you have. I’ll list a few of my own and share an exercise that you might consider doing yourself for a week to see what happens:
- Journaling/Free writing (See my gratitude journal prompts below)
- Low-intensity exercise (walking and swimming are my favorites right now)
- Anything that will get you out of your head and into your body (Zumba, crossfit videos on YouTube, and yoga currently do that for me)
- Guided meditation (I listen to Bob Proctor’s abundance meditation about 5x/week right now and will sometimes switch that up with Mindvalley’s 6-phase meditation, depending on how I feel)
- Any social activity based around spending time in nature (hiking, biking, kayaking, etc.)
Gratitude journal exercise:
First thing in the morning, answer the following questions/prompts:
- I am grateful for….(list 3 things)
- What are three things I will do today to make it amazing? (I currently divide this into a personal, professional, and social goal)
- How will I show up today?
Last thing before you go to bed, answer the following questions/prompts:
- What 3 amazing things happened today?
- How could I have made today even better?
Try this out for a week and see what happens. I’ve been keeping this up for about 4 or 5 years now and it’s changed my life. No joke.
Good luck! And know that you’re not alone. 12 days and going strong. Keep up the great work!
