Step 1: Self Reflection

“You will never be able to escape from your heart. So it is better to listen to what it has to say.” – Paulo Coehlo

Many people live their whole lives without ever knowing themselves. We all have an ideal self we aspire to. We also have a critical voice inside that tells us we are constantly failing. It takes courage to look inside our own hearts.

Are we willing to look inside our hearts and see both the areas we are failing and the places we are succeeding? Knowing what’s inside enables us to stop reacting blindly and start living in abundance!

Use the abundant life quiz as an opportunity to do some honest reflection. Take The Abundant Life Quiz

True humility is the agreement with the truth. Seeing ourselves in truth is the most effective way to walk in abundance of life. Don’t be afraid to look at areas where you feel like a failure, have pain points or frustrations. These frustrations and pains will become larger than life when you keep them inside your head. Which frustrations have weight and which should be let go?

A conversation with a friend can help. Who in your life can give you honest feedback? Spill all your frustrations and ask them to tell you how they see it. Be open to hear what they are saying and to believe them. A loving response from a friend can help us to see which pain points deserve our time and attention and which are founded on lies and should be let go.

It can be much easier to see the faults in others than seeing them in ourselves. We all have faults so it would be prudent for us to focus on our own lives before we try to help others. Every time we ride an airplane we are reminded of this principle as the stewardesses remind us to put on our own oxygen mask before assisting others. We can’t help anyone if we are unconscious ourselves! Too often we feel like it is selfish to care for ourselves. This couldn’t be further from the truth. It is absolutely essential to care for ourselves if we ever want to extend that care to the people around us. Making this a regular practice will allow us to overflow with an abundance of love and care.