The #1 reason why people never feel like they have enough time, money, or resources is because THEY KEEP TELLING THEMSELVES that they don't have enough time, money, or resources.
Much of our life ends up the way it is because we have adjusted.
Our brains were designed for survival. Not happiness. We systematically analyze the worst-case scenario to prepare and protect ourselves from pain.
So it's all about what you focus on. Focus = Feeling.
If you spend all your time focusing on how you're broke, how you hate your job, how you can't afford this or that, etc. Pay attention to how your body and facial expressions react. Everything we focus on sends a biochemical trigger to our brain and it responds accordingly. If you focus on negativity, chances are your shoulders come down, your breath is shallow, and your face is tense.
And then what do we do on top of that? We TELL other people how much we're broke, how we hate our jobs, how we can't afford this or that, and it instantly magnifies the whole situation.
Give yourself an empowering story.
The story, true or not, that you tell yourself is what is affecting you the most.
What story is limiting you?
A true story does not necessarily empower you. Think about how different it feels to think, "This economy sucks," versus "The economy has had rough times before, and it will bounce back just like it always does."
This is NOT about simple "positive thinking." You could sit there and think "I'm happy, I'm rich, I'm happy, I'm rich" and your brain's going "lol..BS"
This is about changing the story that has been disempowering you, seeing things as they are and not worse than they are, and allowing yourself to be successful.
The one commonality between all humans is time. The billionaires and millionaires of the world have exactly the same time you have. The difference is in their strategy.
Change your State.
Our state is determined by 3 things: our Physiology (the way we use our body), our Beliefs (what we tell ourselves to be certain), and our Focus (where our energy goes).
I mentioned that our physiology directly reflects the story we tell ourselves on a daily basis.
Think about about a time when you were really excited and happy. A time when you were so immensely grateful to be alive. Embrace it. Who was there with you? What were you doing? Smile as you enjoy this moment.
Notice your posture. Your breath. Your facial expressions. How different is that as opposed to when you think about something that saddens you? (I slumped my shoulders just typing that out!) What happens to your breath? Is it deep or shallow?
(For you cynics: if you "cant think of anything," take a deep breath.......and imagine you couldn't breathe anymore. Now you have something to be thankful for, right?)
What is the core essence of what controls the quality of your life?
The quality of your emotions
Sad people will find a way to be sad. Angry people will find a way to be angry.
Where you live emotionally and habitually will consistently determine the way you live your life.
In order for you to be pissed off, you must focus on something that will piss you off.
Take caution to the words you attach to your experience, because they will become your experience.
"God's punishing me!" versus "I was just lazy"
Think of all emotions that you experience on a daily basis. Just quickly jot them down.
Whether you have more positive or negative emotion has nothing to do with the circumstance. It has everything to do with what you habitually focus on to feel those emotions.
The ONLY thing keeping you from getting what you really want is the story you keep telling yourself about why you don't or can't have it.
Cut through all the excuses. Cut through all the stories. Get to the bottom line: You're Scared.
The 2 biggest fears embedded in the human psyche: 1) We are not enough, and 2) We won't be loved.
The wall that protects you from pain also imprisons you from growth.
Pretending that we are not afraid is a bunch of baloney! But what if we learned how to dance with our fears? If we learned to change our story and think, "Yes, I am afraid of failing. Yes, I am afraid of rejection. Yes, I am afraid of not being enough. BUT I accept the challenge. BUT I have been successful in the past and I will be so again."
Agree and see eye-to-eye with your fear. Align with your fear and you gain leverage over it. Fear will never go away. Bring a smile and excitement to your fear. Instead of focusing on everything that could go wrong, how about focusing on everything that could go right?
USE YOUR FEAR to move forward!!
LiveWell will be focusing on Financial Wellness this week, but if you have no control over your physical body or your emotions, you will never be able to control your finances.
It starts with YOU. Your STATE determines your behavior. If you walk around like you're broke, your brain will find a way to make this true. Make a radical change in your physiology. Wake up in the morning like you just won a million dollars. (I'm talking laughing, screaming, smiling, jumping for joy, etc. DO IT! Don't just think it! Embrace the feeling. Soak it in. --Imagine the impact that this kind of tone would have to your entire day.)
Begin to reconnect with your passion. What is your biggest dream? Why are you here? Why are you at Berklee? What are you really grateful for in your life right now? What is something you're really proud of?
So, if after reading all of this, you're still worried about who will win the election, you've learned nothing. Understand that there is an external world that you CANNOT control. But there is an internal world that we have all control over. Our minds. Our stories. Our focus. Our Beliefs. Our physiology. You have this incredible power deep within you called your soul.
Shake your body out. Expand your tummy outwards and take a deep beautiful breath in. YOU ARE ALIVE. Smile!!! You are alive!! It's 30 degrees outside, but you have a fire inside of you that has been aching to come out shine.
What story will you tell yourself today? How will you begin to empower yourself today? What kind of ACTION will you take? What decisions will you make?
Maybe today it won't be "I have so much work to do, and no time do it." or "It's not that simple."
Isn't it? Or is that what you have conditioned yourself to believe?
Maybe today your story will be "The day is young. I deserve to learn something today. I deserve to accomplish something today. I deserve to be successful today."
Your biography is not your destiny.
Your greatest power is the power of choice. It's not the events in your life that ultimately control you, but the decisions you make because of those events. Deciding not to do anything is a decision in and of itself.
If you decide to think that you're a screw-up, you will create screw-ups.
If you decide to think that you are powerful, you will create situations that empower you.
What kind of standard will you set for yourself today? What will your quality of life be today? What previously "impossible" thing just became possible?
