Are You Thinking What You Think You Are Thinking?

When was the last time you examined your thoughts? How exactly do you see life? Do you observe life from an eye that sees the cup half full or half empty? Are you a positive thinker or are you more inclined to the negative side? These very important questions will reflect your level of happiness and contentment.
Here are some points to ponder

• On a sunny day do you see the sun or the clouds that block it? Is the sun warm and soothing or hot and uncomfortable?
• Do you wish for summer in the winter time and winter in the summer time?
• Is your closet bursting with clothing but you have nothing to wear?
• Do you enjoy the trip or only the destination? When you arrive, do you fully enjoy your destination or do you immediately begin to dread when you have to leave?
• When you watch a sport can you compliment the talent or do you just criticize poor performance?
• You have been traveling to work everyday for the past year battling heavy traffic and you arrive at work totally stressed. Have you tried leaving for work earlier, or changed your route to help reduce the stress?
• Are you generally happy or do you mostly feel happy when you achieve or acquire something?
• Even though you continuously strive to improve your life, your job, your home and your clothing, are you grateful for what you currently have?

Much of your experience of happiness, contentment, abundance and wealth is based on your attitude or consciousness. If you perceive abundance in life, that will be your experience. If, however, you only see lack, you will live life as though abundance is for someone else.
A very common misconception is that there is not enough abundance or wealth in the world for everyone, therefore some people will have, while others will not. The truth of the matter is that there is an infinite supply of abundance, more than enough for everyone. However, each and every one of us must play our part to not only dream the abundance, but to take the necessary action towards achieving it. We experience what we think about, but it is not enough just to think about it. We must take appropriate action. Intention initiates the creation of wealth. Action enables the reception of it.

Another common mistake people make is they think they are thinking abundance, but they don't act like they are thinking abundance.
For example, a friend of mine was trying to re-organize her work day. She worked an enormous amount of overtime. There never seemed to be any time left at the end of the day for recreation. No matter how hard she tried, nothing seemed to be improving. One day she noticed her thoughts and comments which were " I'm too busy to stop for lunch" and " I don't have time for that."  Despite her best intentions her mindset was in a "lack of time" mode. Once she made a conscious change in her thought process, her creativity surfaced and she solved her overtime issues. She prioritized her work, delegated where she could and limited telephone interruptions to certain times of the day. The solution was not difficult, but as long as she was thinking in "lack of time" mode, her creative juices were blocked.

People often err in their thoughts about improving their personal wealth. A business associate of mine was diligently practicing the principles of the Laws of Attraction to experience wealth and success in his business. Most of the time he consciously thought positive thoughts about profitability in his business. However, in many of his conversations about his business, he spoke more about what his business could not do rather than about the small successes he was already seeing with it. He wanted to support a charity through his business by sponsoring a golf tournament, but he kept saying "I can't afford to sponsor a large tournament." His problem was that he was looking only at the big picture and he wasn't open to considering the small steps to get there. It took some convincing, but he eventually agreed to sponsor a small charity golf tournament. The first tournament raised $500. The next year this same tournament raised $3000 and the third year $8000. The publicity generated from this small step increased his business beyond any expectations. Now when he is asked if he will continue to sponsor the tournament, he says " I can't afford not to."

The next time you think that things just are not going your way, stop to examine your thoughts. Practice gratitude at all times. Think about this - if you do not appreciate what you currently have, why should you receive anything more to be ungrateful for? Do not be blinded by lack. See beyond it. If you find yourself getting bogged down in "lack" thinking, spend some time helping the homeless or the food banks. You will soon discover that when you take the focus off yourself, you are abundantly wealthy in so many ways. Help others achieve what you want and your goal will be achieved, perhaps in bigger ways than you ever expected. What do you think?