Day 299: Wouldn't It Be Nice If…?
If you're someone who finds it hard to visualize or do affirmations, these could be the things for you.
I was reminded this morning of where I first heard this, and it was in The Teachings of Abraham.
A simple way of taking the pressure off when you're wanting to make a shift where something inside doesn't agree or those old stories come up and try to put the brakes on, is to use this phrase:
Wouldn't it be nice if…?
So simple and yet, instead of a command or directive, it's a suggestion.
And the part of our mind whose job it is to protect us and keep things familiar is often much more receptive to a suggestion than a command.
In fact, I wrote and rewrote all 40 days of Change One Thing, Change Your Life over and over until I was sure there was nothing in there that would challenge that part of our brain.
And that was long before I ever heard of Abraham.
It just seemed to me that most of our resistance came from pushing up against that part of our mind that said, "Nope, I'm not going to change. I'm going to keep you safe. This is what I have to do." Then it could logically present to you all the things that have ever gone wrong in the past as justification for staying safe exactly where, how, and who you are today.
I wrote it in a way that allows your mind to open to possibilities, to look at things in your life in a much deeper way, without setting off any alarms to that part of your mind.
And that's the same thing that "Wouldn't It Be Nice" does. I've read several, if not all, of the Abraham books and there are so many wonderful examples of that in there. It's just such a kind, gentle, supportive way of making shifts that make it easy for people who find affirmations to be difficult.
Affirmations can be difficult because they're statements that may not be an actual fact in your life at this moment so it brings up that challenge.
Or people find themselves, as soon as they say an affirmation, hearing that voice in their head going, "Oh no, that's not true," and then telling you all the reasons why. That's not something that you want. To have happen when your goal is to make a positive shift.
For some people also, visualizations can get sabotaged the same way because as soon as you start to imagine what something could be, that little alarm bell goes off. It goes, "Wait no, you can't, you can't do that. I won't let you do that. You have to stay who you are right now."
This is a simple phrase that serves as a workaround.
And it will still show you what your fears are if you use it on something that feels too big.
If you currently earn $100,000 a year and you casually say to yourself, "Wouldn't it be nice if I made $1 million in the next year? That seems like a gentle enough thing to put out there as a potential goal.
At the same time, if it feels too big in your mind or conflicts with your beliefs, then your inner voice will immediately bring up your limiting beliefs.
Your mind might immediately tell you that making that much money would mean working all the time, having less freedom, paying more taxes, and dealing with more responsibility.
Before you've even had a chance to explore the possibility of your higher income, you've created a whole story about why having what you want would make your life worse.
And if you aren't paying attention, you may accept that story without questioning whether any of it is actually true.
And consciously or unconsciously, the other part of your mind that was thinking that it really would like to make that shift to earning $1 million a year says, "Oh okay, I guess you're right."
That's where our awareness of our inner conversations becomes so important because if we catch that, then we go, "Whoa, wait a minute, time out. Let me unpack this whole conversation."
There's a part of me that is using these old limiting beliefs that I didn't even realize were still there (or were there in the first place) against me. Now there's something new I'd like to do or be or have, and it's telling me no in a way that gets the part of my mind that wanted to do this to agree that it's a bad idea. I'm not going to allow that to happen anymore.
After you have that conversation with yourself, you might want to take a deeper look at those limiting beliefs and see if it's time to adjust them or fully release them so they aren't preventing you from realizing your dreams.
And you can start with something much smaller than a million dollars. Something you'd enjoy experiencing in your daily life, something that would give you a little more freedom, pleasure, or peace.
Just ask yourself, "Wouldn't it be nice if…?" and see where your mind takes you.
You may discover a wonderful new possibility, or you may discover a belief that's been holding you back.
Either way, you've learned something about yourself.
Today's Gentle Practice
Think about something you'd enjoy having, doing, or experiencing.
Ask yourself:
Wouldn't it be nice if…?
Finish that sentence with something you'd genuinely love.
Notice how you feel when you say it.
Does your mind begin exploring the possibility, or does it immediately start telling you why it can't happen?
Pay attention to what comes up without trying to force a different answer.
Let the question open a little more room for what you want.
With you,
Lynn
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