36. |
Tell a Different Story |
I often receive email from people in various parts of the world who have read one of my books or listened to an audio or video course I’ve recorded. Many of them ask what they can do to improve their circumstances. While this is quite natural, considering the work I do, I find it troubling that, in almost every case, the person goes on and on about “the way things are.” What they, and many others, are doing is reinforcing the situation by telling the same story over and over again. Unfortunately, it’s a story about exactly what they don’t want.
You can’t keep telling the same story and expect conditions to change. If you want to improve your life, you must begin telling yourself a new story. The best thing you can do is to stop talking about the problem.
Yes, conditions at many jobs can be trying; however, continuing to talk about them and feeling victimized does nothing more than give energy to the problem. Whether you’re trying to increase sales, grow your business, or just have time to complete your work, the law of attraction is always at work.
All religious and spiritual teachings teach something similar to the statement in the Bible “As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.” We attract what we think about. Period. It’s nonnegotiable. You cannot keep saying things such as “The economy is down, so sales are off” and expect things to magically change.
We must all learn to make our conversation be about what we do want rather than what we do not want. You must begin writing a new story about your job and your life. Start talking to yourself about how everything is getting better and better each day.
Learn to focus on what you do have, on what you are thankful for, however little that may be at this time, and on what is going right in your life.
Spend some time each day envisioning the life you want. Feel it with all your senses. If you’re in sales, start seeing people eager to buy from you. Imagine a new story about how business is increasing. See yourself shaking hands with your new customer. Experience how great it feels to be so successful.
If there’s a job you want, begin by imagining yourself working in this ideal career, enjoying your work and feeling appreciated. Of course, don’t stop there. We have an active role to play in our lives, so after you envision the life you want, get up and do something to move toward it, however small the first step may seem at the moment.
If you want to start or grow a business, instead of looking at obstacles, however real they may seem, start looking for ways you can provide service. When you find ways to serve your community, your fellow human beings, and the world at large, you will begin to see ways in which you can earn money. It’s never the other way around.
I know of no successful people who first began by looking for ways to make money. Financial abundance is always the result of doing something that provides value in the world.
Begin now writing the story of your new life. Write it down, act it out, see it, feel it, and start moving toward it. As the title of one of my other books reminds us What Are You Waiting For? It’s Your Life.