Abundance: A Simple Question That Will Change Your Life

by Guest Contributor, posted in Abundance, Allyson Chavez, Author, The Ultimate Prosperity Coach

by Allyson Chavez, Author & Guest Contributor

In this age where so many negative connotations are assigned to different words, it’s refreshing that ‘abundance’ still carries with it a feeling of hope and excitement for the future. Even though technically abundance simply means a large amount of something, most people associate abundance with things that are good.

As The Ultimate Prosperity coach, I’ll use abundance and prosperity interchangeably, because there is such a close connection between the two, mentally speaking. For example, if I asked you, “Would you rather be abundant or prosperous?” the answer is usually, “Is there a difference?” And in today’s conversation, that answer is no!

If you want to create more abundance or prosperity, you must focus on them! To do this, I suggest a simple yet powerful exercise to instantly feel more abundant and prosperous, no matter what is going on in your life.

Ask yourself a simple question:

“Wouldn’t it be nice if…”

When you’re feeling discouraged or anything that is the opposite of abundant, ask yourself something like, “Wouldn’t it be nice if I felt abundant right now?” And then stop. Your mind will answer the question, and the answer is yes!

You can then ask, “what would it look like if my life were abundant right now?” In that very moment, you’ll literally begin to feel abundant as you begin describing what your life would look like.

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Asking this question regularly will change the course of your life.
The great thing is, you don’t have to limit the question to something as generic as abundance. You can ask yourself, “Wouldn’t it be nice if I were my ideal weight?” Or “Wouldn’t it be nice if we could take that fabulous vacation?” You can fill in the blank with anything you desire!

You were born to be abundant. You are only one choice away from totally changing your life. Choose abundance!

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Bio:  Allyson Chavez is a wealth mindset expert and the Ultimate Prosperity Coach. She is an international speaker on the topics of mindset, prosperity, and the inner work to create lasting outer wealth. She is the bestselling author of The Prosperity Approach, an energy practitioner and a sales and communications trainer. Allyson teaches live webinars and online prosperity courses to entrepreneurs, as well as high end private mentoring. Visit prosperityapproach.com/webclass and allysonchavez.com for more information.

Email Allyson at Allyson@allysonchavez.com
Facebook.com/simplyallyson

When You’re Feeling Yanked Around…

by Dr. Crystal Nix Dayton, DC, posted in Abundance, Balanced Lifestyle, Dr. Crystal Nix Dayton, DC, CAc, Emotional Self-Reliance, Out-of-Control and Chaos
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Photo by Vidar Nordli-Mathisen on Unsplash

There are some days (let’s be honest, some seasons) where I just feel yanked to the next thing from the moment I arise ‘til the time I hit the hay. Do you know that feeling? During these days, we may even get our mindfulness practice in still, but it feels like we’re robbed of the day-long calmness we were told we’d have. I must admit though, during those days my practice is more on the rushed side than the truly mindful.

Because I’ve been going through a season of these pulled, yanked, and rushed episodes, I decided to take some inspired advice I’d read on Sunday—to retire early and arise early “that body and mind may be invigorated” (Doctrine and Covenants 88: 124).

Have you ever thought to yourself during your yanked-days, “I think earliness is the answer”? Well, the promise of an invigorated body and mind was too sweet to pass up so I went for it. If this feels impossible, I actually found that it wasn’t as hard as I thought to get in an extra 15 minutes of earliness going to bed and getting up. It’s worth trying.

What I got today during those extra 15 minutes of mindfulness and prayer this morning was an unexpected lesson on my limited concept of time. It became a re-training of my mind in regards to the scarcity of time, and actually to the concept of scarcity at large. Here are some things I learned that I thought you may enjoy as well:

  • There is not a scarcity of time, energy, health, wealth or ability. There is only a learning curb that blocks us from understanding how to have plenty.
  • Rather than straining to get more of these items or that there’s just not enough of them to go around, we can have a sense of peace towards them as we shift our intent to use them as tools rather than as our pursuit.

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    Photo by Samantha Sophia on Unsplash
  • It’s easier to see how this is the case if we think of them in the context of a game, like Mario for example. Time, wealth, and health are tools in the game, but not the end pursuit. We collect stars to speed us up in time, coins to unlock opportunities, and mushrooms to give us health. All the while, we’re moving forward not with the intent to just collect the tools, but to use those tools to accomplish our pursuit—reconnecting with our loved one, Princess Peach in this case.
  • When we live to collect the tools of time, energy, health, wealth, or ability, we’re not living out our purpose and thus we’ll always be met with scarcity and that yanked feeling. If instead we seek them as tools and live life using them as tools to fulfill our purpose, then we’re able to live more freely. Our attitudes can shift, for example, from thinking our family members drain our time, energy, or finances, to appreciating the connection we have with them and the unique perspectives family adds to life.

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    Photo by Ana Tavares on Unsplash

 

If you’ve been going through a yanked season lately, I hope this shift in perspective of using the tools of time, health, and wealth frees you from the constricted feeling scarcity can create. Use the 15 minutes of earliness to allow you space so you can have more creative energy to think of opportunities to collect more tools if you’d like, and reconnect with your purpose.

The Perfect Moment

by Sommer A. Seitz, MA, LMHC, posted in Balanced Lifestyle, Sommer Seitz, MA, LMHC

Have you ever had a perfect moment? One where you think “I will remember this for the rest of my life!” I had one of those perfect moments while enjoying a rare one-on-one date with my fifteen year old son at Universal Studios amusement park this past weekend.  Let me preface this store by saying that I am quite afraid of heights and any rides that fall suddenly from tall heights, such as Dr. Doom at Universal Studios. So when my son asked me to ride his favorite ride, Dr. Doom, I was facing a battle between my fear and my desire to connect with my son.  At first, I gave into my anxiety and tried to convince my son to ride alone while I wait.  He wouldn’t have it and said, “Mom, I would rather stay with you.” Hearing those words helped me find the courage to face my fear and honor what I value most, relationship. I heard myself reply, “No, I am riding this ride and facing my fear with courage like you have so many times son.” In my heart I wondered if I really could.  I knew that I had asked him to do things he feared so many times and he had done them and grown for it. It was my turn to practice what I preach. My unforgettable moment was looking at his face after we dropped, went up to drop again, and we were all smiles and laughter.  Of course, it wasn’t as scary as I imagined it would be, and it ended up being my favorite ride all day.

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Why do I pick this experience for today’s post? Because it contains key elements that come into play at those pivotal moments that define who we become.  Do we choose to move forward with faith or do we choose to be hindered by fear? After all, perfect moments don’t just show up, but instead perfect moments are created one courageous step at a time.  Moreover, perfection is found in reality, not in imagined states in which we do not struggle.  You see, my nagging fear kept telling me to shrink from taking this new step, but I wanted to have a new experience with my son more, so I chose to override that fear with courage. It took all of my skills including: deep diagram breathing, affirmations that “you are really safe,” and even some healthy distraction like looking around and people watching, just to gradually take steps forward in line.  The moment of choice came, as it always does, and I had to choose to do the thing that most scares me.  I had to choose to loose control.  Yep, I used the “control” word. Isn’t that what we all fear, letting go of control of our perceived safety and instead choosing trust.  Everything I value in my life has required taking that step into the dark with trust and believing good things would come.

You see perfection for me isn’t a life without mistakes in which we never suffer, but one in which we fully live in the present and take full advantage of the gift we have to learn and grow. One thing I know for certain is “this too shall pass,” so seize the moment and really take full advantage of your ability to choose what you value now. Perfectionism, and the suffering that perfectionism brings, rejects the present as not being good enough and gets stuck in a cycle of dissatisfaction. We compare ourselves to others and a theoretical best. Reality will always fall short of our theoretical best. If you look at the origin of the word perfect, perfectus, meaning completed or done, you can see that your past is already perfect. Your past can’t be added to or changed, and is compete.  All you take from the past is what you learned so you can apply that to your present reality. One of my favorite ideas is this, “a perfectionist pursues perfection, a realist perceives it.” Your perfect moments are all around you, waiting to be seen and courageously embraced. Acceptance of our reality, and fully living in it is not surrender, it’s courage. As you embrace reality, rather than struggle against it, you can apply what you have learned and improve the next moment.

Back to the story at hand… ultimately, I decided I wanted to live without fear and see what came of it more than let it hold me back. It was my perfect moment because it represents the joy that comes from choosing relationship, trust, and courage, over pulling away, distrust, and fear. Remember, “this too shall pass,” and choose to fully embrace the ride of life and all it can teach you. Are you willing to ride up and embrace the fall?

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Book referenced – “Present Perfect: a mindfullness approach to letting go of perfectionism & the need for control,” by Pavel Somov, PH.D.

How to balance all the “spinning plates” in our lives

by Guest Contributor, posted in Balanced Lifestyle, Maristella Webley, Blogger

Ever feel like you’re spinning so many plates in your life, that at any moment they can all come crashing down? If so, you’re not alone! However, one thing’s for certain, you’re doing better than you may think.

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Some of the “plates” you’re spinning may represent the following:
  • Your faith
  • Your health
  • Relationship with your spouse
  • Relationship with Child #1
  • Relationship with Child #2
  • Relationship with Child #3
  • Relationship with Child #…..etc.
  • Relationship with your Mother
  • Relationship with your Father
  • Relationships with extended family
  • Friendships
  • Volunteering at your child’s school and/or in the community
  • Employment responsibilities
  • Employment/Job relationships
  • Home management
  • Children’s activities
  • Any other area in your life that you’re CONSTANTLY THINKING ABOUT

Just reading this list is exhausting! How do we keep up and meet all those needs?  One suggestion is simply the realization that we’re not alone.  Checking in for some quality time may provide insight, perspective, distraction, or a much needed laugh.  Instead of looking down in despair, look around.  You may be surprised by all the “back-stage” hands that are helping us with the show.  Despite our efforts, while some plates may stop spinning, the world certainly will not!

Here are a few ways to keep everything up in the air…

SPIN PLATES CLOSEST TO YOU FIRST

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Nothing is more distracting to all other areas of our lives then troubled relationships or family members at home.  It’s important to remember that the people closest to us should not receive our least amount of focus.  Unfortunately, this is often the case.  Balancing relationships in our homes require checking-in with one another, while checking-out with everything else.  A little quality time with some quality questions will go a long way: “Hey honey, how are things at work? How was school today kids? What was the best part of your day and what was the worst?”

Communicating with our loved ones will empower us to fulfill our other responsibilities without distraction or guilt.  Our family members are like fine china and everything else is a paper-plate.  One’s disposable, the other’s not.

SPINNING YOUR OWN PLATE

How have you been feeling lately?  Are you run down? Overwhelmed? Short-tempered? If so, perhaps the plate that needs the most attention right now, is your own.  Self-care is critical to our overall effectiveness.  When I began working on my business and launching this blog, I was exercising daily, reading scriptures daily, and feeling up to the challenge.  Fast forward a few weeks later and I was staying up too late, missing my morning work-outs, rushing scripture study, and feeling overwhelmed.  It took a while to realize that self-care was the ingredient I’d been missing.  Once back in the routine of healthy habits, the ideas began to flow and I felt mentally and physically capable of more things being thrown my way.

self care

SPINNING HOME PLATE

Our home is the place where we spend a lot of time. Home management involves things like:

  • Meal planning
  • Grocery shopping
  • Paying bills
  • Washing laundry
  • Folding laundry (this is the beast in our house)
  • Cleaning

Depending on your household, some of these are easier then others.  But considered all at once, and you may throw this plate out of a car window headed for “somewhere other then here.” Designating different days for different tasks will help with overall production and prevent you from doing it all at once. Utilize your family members in areas you can. It’s not only going to help you, it will help them have a realistic view of what it takes to be an adult. Not that adulting stinks, but it’s not all play. Scheduling activities for certain days can focus your efforts, while freeing up time for everything else.

YOUR BEST IS GOOD ENOUGH

We’re not perfect and sometimes those plates around us may fall.  The best things in our life take consistent time and check ins. Think about it, being healthy is not a single meal or exercise.  Healthy relationships aren’t built by a single experience, or one kind gesture.  It takes effort little by little. We will make it through whatever challenge comes our way as long as we remember to breathe, and enjoy those beautiful people that are placed in our lives.

balancing the plates

About the Author:

“Hello! My name is Maristella Webley and I am a mother of six small children.  I married my childhood sweeheart (who went on to become a firefighter), and together we are building a home of learning and fun.  I also own a small, thriving preschool with classes for 3-6 year olds.  I have a passion for early childhood and know the importance of the first five years!  Parents as first teachers is the motto I have structured my kindergarten readiness kits around.  I hope to empower parents to have an active role in their child’s life, especially when it comes to early education!”

http://littletimewitharhymeandreason.com

Chaos and Crumbs

by Dr. Crystal Nix Dayton, DC, posted in Abundance, Balanced Lifestyle, Out-of-Control and Chaos

For the past few weeks, I’ve watched how the feeling of things being out-of-control can suddenly switch us from able to disabled. The “out-of-control thing” can be a feeling of trying to set a routine and it keeps slipping away. A partial opinion someone has of us that we just can’t help them see our full picture. Trying to support a sick loved one. Or the clutter that has crawled into our closet, kitchen, or computer from loved ones or ourselves as we’re trying to manage life’s demands. Whatever that out-of-control thing is for you, know that you’re not the only one who gets incapacitated by it every now and then. We’re not weak for feeling that way. We’re growing.

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Photo by Jordane Mathieu on Unsplash

When chaos comes, we may feel all we have left are crumbs of ideas, energy, support, or solutions.

But at least we have crumbs.

I’ve been thinking about this when random moments of chaos have affected me or those around me lately. For some reason, the idea of crumbs brought me solace. In the midst of pain and pressure from chaos’ crumbliness, I think we can learn from our little leftover remains.

  1. Its ok to have days of hearty harvests and days of scraping from the bottom. Just like the seasons, our days will vary in abundance. Some days we’re functioning at a Spring state with bounteous energy and flowing ideas. Other days we’re more in a huddled, frigid Winter state. Both seasons, we have something to give and receive. When I have those free flowing days with buckets full to share, I find myself still needing to receive my husband’s counterbalancing thoughts to prune and hedge my decisions. During the winter freeze and crumby days when I have little to give, I can still offer warmth to huddle next to. What this looks like may be extra delegating, voicing my needs more, or drawing loving boundaries for activities or people to better care for myself.
  2. Every crumb counts. Imagine your favorite meal or desert. Every last drizzle and morsel of that deliciousness is savored and celebrated. That means that when we’re depleted, every little bit that we do have to give to ourselves, our families, or our work is enough. Even if they say otherwise, let it be a truth we can anchor in knowing that our best is enough (1). Because our seasons can change, that means our best also changes. We can give ourselves some space in productivity, in helpfulness, in nurturing, and wherever we tend to excel in or be leaned on, knowing that it’s ok for our status and abilities to fluctuate. But what we do give, if given with our best, will be for good.
  3. Be determined to move forward. Crumbs can only support us for so long. I’ve used these crumby moments to be a flag and indicator to myself that things have got to change. And the things I can change are 1) my attitude and 2) my actions. For my attitude, there’s nothing like listening to a favorite song that anchors me to remember truths or to be grateful. A few of my favorites are “Blessed” by Martina McBride, “Baba Hanuman” by Shantala, or any song by JJ Heller. As for actions, you know the list: exercise, sleep, talking/counseling, nutrition, praying, serving, exploring nature, acupuncture, or reading.
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Photo by Abele Gigante on Unsplash

This has been a topic I’ve been thinking about for a while and so writing it was actually a challenge because it’s been a learning by observing process rather than anything measured or clinical. I hope through this conversation we can each be more patient with ourselves through the chaos and crumbs. We’d love to hear what you’ve found helpful when you’ve felt out-of-control or crumbly. Who knows, if we as women link our crumbs together, maybe we’ll end up with a loaf to share.

(1) Ruiz, Miguel. The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom. San Rafael, Calif: Amber-Allen Pub, 1997. Print.