Unleash the limitations that inhibit your ability to achieve and embrace abundance.

The universe was created in a state of abundance and harmony; therefore, Nature never lacks for what it needs in its natural, harmonious system. As you tap into this natural state of being abundant and in harmony, then you experience abundance in your own life.

Tapping into abundance is a process of learning:

• Learning to shift your focus in your lives (see February Tip)
• Learning to recognize abundance in your lives (see March Tip)
• Learning to recognize scarcity in your lives (see April Tip)
• Learning to recognize limitations that inhibit your ability to achieve and embrace abundance (this month’s Tip)

Learning to recognize limitations may seem like realizing you live in water if you’re a fish, because you may be so accustomed to your way of life and corresponding belief systems. What are limitations? Frankly any belief, action, or worldview is probably full of limitations. Recognizing them requires that you open your mind to that potential and allow yourself to reconceptualize your life.

For example, consider the following sample belief statements. As you read them ask yourself to what degree to you agree or disagree with the statement. Rate yourself from 1 to 10 where 1 = Strongly disagree; 5 = NEUTRAL (neither agree or disagree); 10 = Strongly agree.

• If I have a lot of money, I may lose it all.
• I cannot be more successful than my parents.
• I wish I didn’t have to deal with money at all.
• I am not smart enough to be a good money manager.
• I don’t deserve to be rich.
• For me to succeed, others must fail.
• I’m too old (too young) to be successful.
• Striving for wealth can cause health problems.
• Attaining money and power is a big responsibility.
• As a woman, it is more difficult to be successful.

For each of these beliefs, if you rated it above 6, then you agreed with it to some extent. Therefore, that belief is probably creating a limitation with respect to tapping into financial abundance in your life. For example, if you agree with the statement: “For me to succeed, others must fail” and if you don’t want others to fail -- especially on your account -- then you may subconsciously work to make sure that you don’t succeed too much. Each of these belief statements has a similar unconscious self-sabotage at work to the degree that you agree with the statement.

Once you’ve realized a belief statement that does not serve you (even if it did at some point of time in your life), the next step is to reframe your thinking to eliminate that belief. Usually, recognizing that you had that belief, because you hadn’t thought of it before and may not even remember when you picked up that thinking, can be enough to alter your thinking processes in the future with respect to that belief. If not, then you may need to examine where the belief originated and consider how it might have served you in the past and no longer does, essentially reasoning with yourself as a method to alter your thinking. Usually an extended internal reasoning process can be enough to alter your thinking, but don’t rule out the possibility of working with a counselor or life coach, such as Russell Cox , founder of Shamanic Wealth & Healing, as well.

These belief statements are merely samples of the kinds of limited thinking that we may pick up throughout our lives. Learning to recognize limiting & scarcity thinking is a process of learning to question beliefs you have about life. It is a process of due diligence and attention to your thinking.

How to do you practice this process each day? As you go about your daily life, think about what you’re thinking or about beliefs or assumptions that you operate from. Ask yourself, “Who made that rule? Does it limit me? Does it still serve me?” Then dialog with yourself to change your thinking. As previously stated, this process may seem like recognizing that you live in water if you’re a fish, but the rewards of tapping into the abundant nature of the universe are well worth it as a limitless life unfolds.

Tapping into abundance is a process, a process of becoming abundant. Future Abundance Tips will provide further reflections to help you identify limitations and recognize scarcity thinking in your life as well as offer tips to becoming abundant as you tap into the Universe’s abundant nature.

Next Month: Abundance/scarcity recognition – replace “All or nothing” thinking with “something” thinking.