…is happening FOR me! Wait a minute now. Are you saying that my unemployment, my house underwater, my angry spouse, and all that other bad stuff happening in my life is a GOOD thing? No comprendo.

Let’s think about it for a minute. When you approach your life from the perspective that everything is FOR your GOOD, then it can shift your thinking from being a victim to being a victor. You are then more empowered to take the actions that work for you. By seeking the GOOD in everything around you, you will attract more GOOD in your life.

Remember the Law of Attraction which states “that which is like unto itself is drawn” or more simply, “likes attract like”? Keep asking for the GOOD in your life to show up and before you know it, everything that shows up will be GOOD!

Don’t let the external world affect you. Live in the possibilities. Live in your imagination. Thomas Edison once said that “imagination is more powerful than knowledge”. Seek the GOOD and watch out what happens. You will be thrilled at the results.

Step 6 – Do What Prospers You

… Then, why the heck am I still taking Prozac? Well, some people, like author Dr. Robert Maurer, claims that that stress just doesn’t exist. Dr. Maurer is an Associate Clinical Professor at the UCLA School of Medicine and he talks a lot about KAIZEN, a process of taking small, trivial steps over time to master a goal, a skill, or an attitude.

Now, its’ not that he doesn’t believe in setting huge goals like we do; it’s just that he believes that, in order to reach those goals, it is helpful to take small steps regularly in order to get there. You know. It’s like the tortoise and the hare – remember who won that won?

So when it comes to managing stress in these uncertain times, we need to do the responsible things that will keep us on track — plan ahead, do reality checks with others, talk with professionals (accountant, etc.) review budgets, etc. And to do those things, Dr. Maurer suggests that we take small, trivial steps to handle those activities.

This process also works very well. It is our thinking process that is so much the source of our anxiety. So instead of obsessing about how you’ll never get hired again because you are over 50, you might allow yourself to consider the idea that some one might actually hire you! You might start saying to yourself that “there is a job for everyone –even 50 year-olds.” And then do nothing about it for a few days except to repeat that statement a couple of times each day. Then, on the 4th day, allow yourself 10 minutes to look online at just 1 job site to see what is available. Then several days later, select 1 job and send in your resume. Or maybe pick up the phone and call someone you might be able to help you. Remember – change your thinking, change your life!

One of my friends, Melissa, was scared to death that she was going to lose her apartment because she was at the end of her savings. Because her anxiety was so high, she couldn’t concentrate and her ability to make good decisions was impossible. So she started to tell herself every day that “Everything was going to be OK.” She didn’t believe it at first, but after a while, she started to feel better. She noticed that she was sleeping better and that her neck pains were going away. The more she focused on how things were going to get better, the less she thought about being thrown out into the street. Eventually, she was able to start taking small, trivial steps to make positive changes in her life. She got some friends to help her, and she was able to manage her difficulties successfully.

So we need to ask ourselves to what extent are we creating our own stress? Are you a believer in “abundance” or in “scarcity”? Do you trust that the Universe is “safe and nurturing” or is it an “unsafe place to be”? Why not consider the more optimistic approach and allow yourself those small, trivial steps to help you change your life. Keep your vision massive and do something every day to help you get there. You will be amazed at your results!

STEP 5 – BE OPTIMISTIC!

…CERTAINTY DOES!

So that’s what Daniel Gilbert said last week in Thursday’s Op-Ed section of the New York Times. Well, at first that was a mind blower for me, but when I thought more about it, it actually made a great deal of sense.Daniel backed up his article with a lot of good research. He started by reminding us of Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s famous line, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself,” during the Great Depression. And then he went on to say how psychologists and economists have conducted extensive research to show that the very rich are generally no happier than 99% of us. That is, of course, if you are not in the breadlines and worrying where your next meal is coming from. That is something else.

He then gives a number of examples of how the issue of “uncertainty” is what really makes people fearful. It is the anxiety of “not knowing” what is happening next that throws people into fear and depression. Think about it.

Daniel shared an experiment done by researchers in the Netherlands who gave subjects a series of 20 shocks. One group knew that they were going to get 20 intense shocks. The other group was going to get 20 shocks as well, but 17 were going to be mild and the other 3 were going to be intense. They just didn’t know WHEN they were going to get those intense shocks. The result was that the second group sweated more and had much more anxiety than the first group who knew they were always getting those intense shocks. The reason was this – people feel worse when something bad might occur than then something bad will occur.

So is he saying that we feel better when we know the truth rather than wondering about what might happen? And the answer is yes. Rather than waiting, in anxious anticipation, we would rather get the news, cry for a while, and then get on with doing whatever needs to happen next.

So how does that apply to Massive Abundance? Once we know the demon – in this case, uncertainty, then we can look forward to the outcome of what it is that concerns you, and know that we will be able to make the best of it, some way, some how.

Face your fears squarely, know that the right answers will come, and that you will be able to handle whatever comes in your path. That is Massive Abundance!

STEP 5 – BE OPTIMISTIC

Do some of your fears scare the hell out of you? Are you freaked out by speaking in public, flying in airplanes or even work deadlines? As crazy as this sounds, fear is good for all of us. Fear is generated by the brain to motivate us. We WANT to be motivated by fear because this causes us to act. If we didn’t have fear, we would be running red lights with abandon.

The key is, how can we use and channel our fear to motivate us in all life areas? How do we use our crazy fears to push us, motivate us and get us to make our lives better? Yes, we want to push through our fears and stop letting them hold us back. I am personally fearful of enclosed places with a lot of people. But do I let this fear keep me from flying on airplanes? NO! I have used some techniques and breathing and other things to get my butt on that plane.

One technique we discuss a lot in our seminars is the use of Kaizen. Kaizen is the theory of a journey of 1,000 miles begins with the first step. It is taking baby steps toward a goal when you know there is a great fear holding you back. By taking small steps toward cutting out sugar from your diet or eating smaller portions, for example, it circumvents the fear factor in the brain to maybe reduce the sugar in your ice tea from 2 teaspoons to 1 and half teaspoons for a week. Reducing the sugar incrementally isn’t as fearful as cutting it out all together. If you can take these small steps in any area you want to change, then you’ll be more confident and more motivated to take bigger steps. And it is through these bigger steps that we all achieve breakthroughs! So you use you fear to motivate you to Massive Abundant things in your life!

Step 2; Activate Your Vision