Some of us are lucky and naturally know how to think prosperously. It’s an innate trait. A way of thinking we were born with that we never gave much thought to. Prosperous thinking is simply how we operate.
But for most of us, it is far beyond our realm of comfort and something we need to learn.
Ever feel like whatever situation you are in is never ending?
If your relationship with your partner is on the rocks, you feel like it will never get better and nothing can save it.
If your financial situation is alarming, you feel like you will never get out of debt and you will never be able to enjoy material goods anymore.
This way of thinking is a double edge sword: it not only keeps you firmly planted in you current situation but it also prevents you from seeing the opportunities of getting out of it.
Learning to think prosperously is learning to train your mind to see past your current situation and look towards what your situation could be.
As the Buddha once said:
“The mind is everything. What you think, you become”
Think of it this way:
When you’re driving your car, your hands are holding the stirring wheel but your head is the one dictating where to go. Your hands simply follow your mind’s commands.
Now how is it that we understand how to drive, yet we think that in other life situations, our minds can go one way and our body will steer us the other way?
Our body, our actions, will inevitably follow the mind’s lead.
Your hands wouldn’t turn the stirring wheel right if your mind said to go left.
So in order to change your situation, you need to change your mindset.
Once you change your mindset, then you can act out your thoughts and your situation will inevitably change.
Prosperous thinking is about more then thinking positively.
Because this is a learned behaviour for many of us, here are my 3 initial steps to prosperous thinking:
#1 Face your challenges
Learning to think prosperously should not be confused with ignoring the situation you are in and simply thinking happy thoughts, blue skies and pink sand. It goes above that.
You need to be willing to face your situation head on and acknowledge what it is you are dealing with.
Going back to our two previous examples, if your relationship is not doing well, find the root of the problem, don’t hide your head in the sand.
Is it a communication problem, is it a trust issue… Talk to you partner (calmly) and get to the root of your issues. If you need professional guidance or support, don’t be afraid to ask for it. Professionals are there to help and there is no shame in that, on the contrary, it takes strength to ask for help!
If you financial situation is alarming, look at your budget, look at your expenses and the money coming in. Again, if you need help, financial planners are there to help you sort things out and come up with a realistic plan for you to stick to.
Once you’ve identified the root of your issues, you can begin to change your mindset by adapting your thoughts to what results you wish to see materialize.
# 2 Think yourself through it
Once you have identified the issue(s) you can now bring your mind to think past the current situation and visualize the desired outcome.
Going back to our relationship example, if you identified the issue as a lack of communication, you can now start thinking of creative ways to improve your communication skills, and as you are going through the thinking process and putting things in place, practice visualization: focus on you and your partner talking openly to each other, laughing while you share stories, calmly and compassionately expressing how you feel to one another.
By allowing your mind to visualize open and flowing communication with your partner, your body and your actions will inevitably follow suit.
The mind cannot think one way while the body acts another.
If we take our dire financial situation example, if you identified that the issue was an excess in frivolous spending, you can start thinking of creative ways to reduce your spending while still enjoying your life, and bring your mind to visualize yourself having a great time without all the material things you feel you need.
Again, and this is worth repeating a gazillion times, the mind cannot think one way while the body acts another.
#3 Don’t fail yourself
When things aren’t going as well as we had hoped, in the time frame we had hoped for, we often feel discouraged and let down.
We start to doubt the process and wonder if truly, things will ever change.
Slowly, negative thoughts start creeping in.
We let one bad thought pass and kinda brush it aside.
But then another bad thought comes around, bringing along other bad thoughts and soon enough the bad thoughts become more frequent and we give them a little more of our attention every time until all we can think about is how this is going to fail and we will never get out of this situation and this was all a big waste of time.
Don’t fail yourself!
That one bad thought you initially had, the one you brushed aside and didn’t think was such a big deal, well it is a big deal.
That one bad thought started planting bad thought seeds in your head and before you know it, the seeds are taking roots and blossoming.
Don’t fail yourself by letting bad seeds get into your head.
As soon as a bad thought arises, immediately change the inner dialog and bring a good thought in.
If you’re thinking your partner will never learn to listen to you, change your thought and picture the two of you sitting on a park bench, coffee in hand, laughing and talking.
If you’re thinking your life will never feel complete without such and such material good, imagine yourself hosting a potluck with friends, the fun you will have and the joy of sharing.
Prosperous thinking is about facing your challenges head on, thinking creatively to overcome those challenges and changing your mindset to adapt to your desired reality.
It’s about seeing what the futur can hold for you, while taking care of your present.
It’s about being in the NOW while preparing yourself for an awesome tomorrow.
Prosperous thinking = reality check + creative thinking + positive mindset
Love
Eloise
P.S. As always, I love hearing from you so leave me a comment below or send me an email and let me know how prosperous thinking can apply to your life.
P.P.S. If you want to take your journey further and set yourself up for success in all areas of your life, in just a few minutes a day, check out my eBook, The Ignition Toolbox HERE
P.P.P.S If you have questions and you’re not sure The Ignition Toolbox is right for you, I’ve got you covered. Click HERE to read my FAQ.
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