When I was a kid, everyone would talk about whether that glass was half full or half empty. We'd define ourselves by it. "Are you a glass half full or half empty kind of person?" Were you an optimist or a pessimist? Although, every pessimist I've ever met preferred the term realist. I know because I was one. I decided early in life, it was best to take things as they are. The steps for a successful life were already paved out and if I followed them, never veer off track, I'd be okay in this world. Don't aim too high and be realistic about my goals.
You can imagine how that worked out for me. I got everything I set my mind to which was below what I now know to be my capabilities. My daily life comprised of a nagging feeling in the back of my mind that there should be more to life than this. I'm not the only pessimist in the world who's felt this way. Scientific and spiritual studies have grown the past ten years, studying how mindset changes one's overall quality of life. And I'm not just talking about how thinking with gratitude and optimism leads to happier people. Rather how positive thinking increases wealth in various parts of one's life, from financial to romantic. Those who use the Millionaire Mindset, as some people call it, are more likely to succeed in their endeavors. For the past 2 years, I've been taking classes from professionals, both locally and online through Mindvalley. They all come to the same conclusion. To succeed in life, you must first forgive the past and have intentions toward the future free from an emotional ties while loving yourself in the present. "They" includes the award winning hypnotherapist Marissa Peer, self-help guru Joe Vitale, and entrepreneur Vishen Lakhiani as well as local teachers I've worked with in person who have earned a great level of respect in their communities.
Forgive the past. Live with intention. Love yourself. Not a tongue twister but a difficult thing to do. Forgiving the past means erasing everything I've used to define myself and justify my anger after many an outburst. Living with intention means knowing what I want out of life. With the global possibilities our generation is open to, that's a decision I might never feel qualified to make. And love yourself? Really? I mean sure, everyone says "love yourself" and "you must love yourself before anyone else can" and all that stuff but then they call you vain and immodest if you give that a go so where's the line?
However, the results of people saying all they needed was a little nudge of a more supportive mindset for life to improve seemed to speak for itself. I grew up religious and read self-help books as a kid, just for fun. So positive thinking intrigued me enough to give it a solid go. In 2018, I decided I wanted an easy, stress free job and to live in a bigger city with kind people and access to all my favorite kinds of stores. Boy did I meditate on it. And I applied for jobs, the stress free and not so stress free. I won't say I was realistic, since that sounds like a pessimist trying to sound less negative, but I will say I was open minded. I tried not to judge the job before the interview because maybe I could be so good at my responsibilities that I never felt stress, despite how it looked. I understood that there was a difference between what I wanted and what I thought I wanted. By staying away from the specifics, I hoped to open myself up to a future even better than my imagination. But I also trusted my intuition. If accepting a job offer made me sick to my stomach, despite meditating to erase any previous judgment, than I said no. I decided if I wanted to give this system an honest try, I had to stay true.
I had enough savings for one more comfortable month when I accepted the job offer for my current position. Not only do I have my space and two consecutive weekend days off which was more than I had at my previous job, but this position is the most stress free job possible. I clock in, do my thing, clock out, and never have to think about it again until I return. It's a job that doesn't come home with me which I'm realizing was what I meant when I asked the universe for "stress free." Not only that but I had to move to another city. Even though I had my doubts about the location, it turned out to have exactly the stores and community I wanted. This system works.
So I decided to give it a bigger go. 1 year. 3 tasks. Let go of the past. Live with intention. Love yourself. At the end of every month, I will post my progress and some techniques and visualizations I've used to help keep me in this mindset. I have a background in Life Coaching, Hypnotherapy, Reiki, and Ho'oponopono which I will tap into to give you the best advice. Do you too want more out of life? Are you ready to live how you want to live? Do you wonder where to even begin? If you want to do this with me, subscribe to my email to receive hot tips on meditation and taking control of your life. Then keep an eye out on my social media for updates on my book series and geeking out about meditation and pop culture. :)