Most of us believe that we don't have what we want in life yet because we don't have everything we need. We need more talent. We need a different personality. We need more money. We need more time. We need more love and more friends. We need someone to give us a big break to help us land our dream job. Whatever it is that we believe we don't have is a powerful thought pattern. When we focus on what we believe is missing in our lives, we are creating more lack. Our attention can't be split between having and not having. If we focus on what we don't have, then we can't see what we really do have. It also goes that if we focus on what we actually have, then we are drawing more to ourselves.
I would much rather focus on what I have instead of what I don't. Our culture teaches us to pay attention to what we don't have. Most of us spend our lives striving to get what we believe we don't have. Most people assume that if you don't pay attention to what you don't have, then you aren't dealing with reality. People who think this way also tend to believe that if you don't focus on what's missing, then you can't ever get what you need.
I would like to introduce you to another way of looking at your life that comes from ancient teachings. Whatever we focus on, we get more of that experience. If we fill our thoughts with what we believe is missing in our lives, then we are connecting ourselves with what we don't have. We already have everything that we could ever want on a spiritual level, which we can't see, hear or touch. To bring the spiritual into the physical level where we can experience it, we need to believe that we already have it. We have to act and feel emotionally as if we already have everything we need and want. We are temporarily without whatever we desire on the physical level, but we must understand we already have on the spiritual level. It is simply a matter of time before whatever is on the spiritual level shows up on the physical level. We must expect and anticipate the arrival of what we want on the physical level.
Acting as if you already have what you need may seem like a game of make-believe. This way of thinking has been around for centuries and it has helped people live their lives. We always have a choice about what to think, so it is totally up to you to choose your thoughts. We can see a glass as half empty or half full. The person who sees the glass as half full will have an easier time filling up the glass to the top because they recognize it is already half full. It is more peaceful and hopeful to approach life from the position of having than not having. It is easier to motivate yourself and take action from a position of having than not having.
If we are so busy obsessing and thinking about what we don't have, then we can't be fully using what we do have. We have to appreciate what we have and use it fully, if we expect to receive more. We have to handle our lives where we are now instead of wishing that we had more success, fame or money. Are you handling what you have now? Are you fully using what you have now? We have to demonstrate that we are ready for more before it comes to us.
We are often closer to receiving what we want than what we ever realize. However, the more we focus on what is missing, we are distancing ourselves from receiving what we want. Most of us don't realize that we already have what we need right in front of us. Sometimes, what we need is quietly an arm's length away from us. It is waiting for us to wake up and recognize it is here to meet our needs. Sometimes, what we need doesn't come into our lives while making a big, grand entrance.
We already have everything that we need. The more that we tell ourselves what we are lacking, then we can't see what we have and utilize those resources. I learned this lesson firsthand during my career change journey. My goal was to inspire and uplift people with the written word. I believed that I needed a mentor to guide me as I sought a career as a motivational writer. I needed to write a column for a small newspaper as a way of establishing myself as a writer. Nobody would even take my column idea seriously because I was an unknown writer. I tried really hard to create opportunities for myself, but I ran into deadends. I felt doomed for failure because I didn't have the opportunities that I believed I needed to succeed.
It wasn't until I realized that I already had everything I needed that I stopped striving for what I believed was missing. I decided to focus on what I could do for myself with my existing resources. I had a computer, internet access, some knowledge of website design and a friend who was willing to design a website for me. I was going to create my own opportunities. I decided to create a website where I could write and share what I have learned with others. I always had the opportunity to create my website, but I couldn't see it as long as I was chasing the newspaper column idea. I'm relying on myself and listening to my instincts now instead of believing that I need a mentor. I'm simply doing all that I can for myself in preparation for bigger opportunities that will come my way. I don't think of what I'm lacking any more because I'm focused on what I already have right now.
Think about your thoughts. Do you focus your thoughts more on what you don't have instead of what you already have? In terms of getting whatever you want, have you really taken stock of all the potential resources that you have at your disposal right now? Is what you want already present, but you haven't recognized it yet?
The more we focus on what is missing, we can't see what we really do have right now. You might believe that you don't have any friends, but you could have potential friends all around you whom you have ignored. Your co-workers, neighbors, or anyone you meet could become a friend. You might be looking for love. A potential mate could be right under your nose. You get the idea. Try it and see what happens.
Keep in mind that I'm not saying that we shouldn't wish for more assistance or more of whatever else we believe we need. It is okay to want more. I'm pointing out that it isn't helpful to think solely about what you don't have without recognizing that you already have many resources and talents that you aren't using. I believe that if we demonstrate our willingness and readiness to use all of the resources that we currently have, then more resources will come to us. It kind of goes along the line of if you don't use it, you lose it. Why would I give a person more of anything who isn't already using what he has?
Take advantage of and use every single resource that you have. Challenge yourself to look at everything in your life and uncover hidden resources that you already have. Be grateful for what you have. Bless everything you have now. Know and trust that you already have everything you need, even if you can't experience it just yet.
Affirmations: I always have everything I need. I bless my life and all of my opportunities.
Copyright©2006 Jeannine Robinson All Rights Reserved