Breathe & Keep Up

‘being in short supply, insufficiency, a sense of lack’

The feeling that you have been waiting for your turn while everyone else has been basking in glory.

Wealth, wisdom, health, success, love, beauty.

The feeling that you’ve had it tough and everyone else seems to get it so easy.

Do you ever feel the rush to achieve it NOW?

Notice all the other people with it and think, “I’m just as deserving as they are, if not more!”

Feeling the urgency of our desires, the feeling that time is running out.

There is a part of this feeling that is healthy, the burning desire, the thirst, the hunger to realize our dreams, it propels us forward.

But there is another part of this feeling that has us racing against time, doubting ourselves, thinking, “If I haven’t got it yet then maybe I never will?”

Maybe I don’t deserve it? Maybe it’s too late? Maybe I’m not good enough?

So where do we go from here?

We build awareness.

Begin to take notice: where does the mind run to when you start to feel the scarcity?

The feeling of lack often results in panic, we may feel anxious, frozen, stuck, limited and small.

In the moment of panic, we often go in one of three ways – run to distraction, allow the ego to take over, or recognize and act from a place of abundance.

Each of the three options may still propel us forward and allow us to achieve our goals, but the last one, recognizing and acting from a place of abundance, this option ensures success, growth and it supports not only ourselves but those around us.

Let’s examine each one:

Running to distraction

Feeling panic isn’t a pleasant sensation and so we move towards what is pleasant, to what is comforting, distracting – it can come in many forms: talking to others, exercising, spending, sleeping, consuming alcohol, drugs, food, tv.

Allowing the ego to take over

To escape feeling small the ego will often begin to rationalize. We may start to belittle and criticize others to make ourselves feel better – make them small to make ourselves feel big. All of this happens so fast, we barely notice that we’ve given power to the ego to make us feel grand or ghastly in comparison to others.

It may sound like this:

“They may be good at X but they’re lacking in Y and Z.”

“Everything was handed to them, I actually have to work hard.”

“I could do that so much better than them.”

But using the ego in this capacity, as our coach, our pep talk – it’s temporary, a quick fix, a band-aid. Imagine a world where we all kept thinking this way about each other. We may see how it could create animosity, separation and power struggles.

Recognizing abundance

There is a profound shift that takes place when we start living with the belief, the knowing, that we deserve good things, great outcomes, that there is more than enough for everyone.

We begin to see that the lack, the scarcity, it has nothing to do with there not being enough opportunities, enough money, enough good people, it has to do with the perception we have of ourselves.

At some point in our lives we unconsciously interpreted a particular experience to mean that we were undeserving, not good enough, and this created a belief system that continues to replay in our lives.

Maybe someone didn’t share with us, include us, invite us, someone scolded us, hurt us. Can we consider that what happened to us was not personal? That what the other person did was propelled by their own story and journey and had nothing to do with what we deserved.

Exploring our current belief patterns allows us to break down the ones that are unproductive and consciously introduce the notion that we have always been, and always will be deserving of great things. In thinking abundantly we are able to celebrate the successes of others without feeling slighted ourselves.

What things, events, people have come into your life in the last week, month, year that have made you smile, laugh, feel happy?

What experiences have come into your life in the last week, month, year that have propelled growth? Strength? Knowledge?

Spend some time accumulating a list, visualizing each one in your mind and remembering, re-inviting the feeling they brought and allowing it to fill your heart.

These things, events, people, experiences, this is life showing you that you’re being supported, showing you that abundance has always been yours. We think abundantly to invite more abundance.

The ego will continue to speak up and assert itself but by noticing its workings instead of engaging in it, your relationship with the ego can change. Notice the ego wanting to compare, criticize and then actively, with purpose and intention, chose to break old belief patterns and replace them with the notion of abundance!