THINK… DREAM… ABUNDANTLY!

Yes, it is Biblical … and yes it is also so very practical!! There is so very much these days being written and blogged these days on ‘Abundant Living’. But like many things, the concept is as old as time. John 10 verse 10; in the various translations of the Bible, bears the message from Christ; “I have come that you may have life … and have it more abundantly!!”

So the question may be asked by some: "If this is so, why am I not living the abundant life I was promised?"

The answer may be linked to the fact of what we as individuals determine to be the “abundant life”. Is it having more money than I can spend? Or is it the joy of togetherness and contentment of being with my spouse and family? … Is it being able to excel to the highest levels of my professional life? Or is to be spiritually fulfilled as much as any human being could be?... or is it all of the above?

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"Abundant,” has been a slogan that was instilled in me from age 11 years, as the slogan of my secondary School, St Andrew High, of Kingston Jamaica, -(a product of the Presbyterian and Methodist Churches) and I believe that it instilled in us as students a certain mindset many as its graduates over the years have come to accept that we as ‘Sn’ Andrew Girls’ could achieve anything! No Minister, no philosopher sat us down and told us that specifically; but yes; our environment, our teachers, the students who had graduated before us, by words and example, made us feel that everything and anything was possible for us, “Sn’ Andrew” Girls!

The Abundance mindset was instilled in us!

This is the concept behind this series that encourages others to “Think … Dream… ABUNDANTLY!” and to know that you – everyone, can live their dreams NOW!

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What is YOUR Dream?

The answer to that question explains why we are not all alike in how we see or measure the fulfillment of individual dreams. We are all uniquely and individually made, and so our dream of fulfillment … the abundant life for each of us, will differ significantly.

The point to be made however is that we have been empowered since birth to find the way(s) to achieve that dream! This is what “Think, Dream Abundantly”, seeks to share.

ABUNDANT THINKING does not focus on what is scarce; time, money, friends, opportunities of social engagement, a love life; … - the kind of thinking that characterizes a “scarcity mindset”- that here is just not enough of anything! It is a mindset that leads to covetous thinking, and a meanness of spirit that does not and cannot rejoice at the achievements of others, for to them, it appears as if by being successful, that person has robbed them of their own ability to perform.

It is illogical, yes, but it is still a pervasive way of thinking that in itself, prevents achievement. For a vital key to success, is the innate conviction that ‘if I can dream it… I can achieve it. For while a “scarcity mindset” encourages thought of what we don’t have and therefore cannot achieve, “abundant thinking”-people instead, take a careful look at what they do have, and how they can use that gift; - that asset, to achieve their dreams.

“THE POLLYANNA PRINCIPLE”: - Like most things, even with the concept of ‘abundant thinking’, there is historical thought that seems to ape it, or to have given rise to the positivity that characterizes abundant thinking.

As a child, even before I was sent to my “Life more Abundant” High School, my father ‘fed’ me on what came to be known as the “Pollyanna Principle”. “Pollyanna,” published in 1913 by American Author Eleanor Porter, was my favorite book and deemed to be a classic of children’s literature. There were a number of sequels written over subsequent years which came to be known as the “Glad Books”, some written by Elizabeth Barton or Harriet Lummis Smith, among other writers. The main theme was, that no matter the situation, Pollyanna (the heroine), tried to find something to be ‘glad’ about. So much so, that the name “Pollyanna” came to reflect a positivity of spirit, a purposeful optimism, that deliberately sought to identify what was ‘good’ about a situation, no matter how negatively it appeared at first glance.

The ‘glad’ attitude, became pervasive in the Pollyanna books, and seemed eventually to infect nearly everyone living around Pollyanna; -causing even the most caustic pessimist to be encouraged to “thaw,” and to find something to be “glad” about.

That was the Pollyanna principle. It is an infectious joyous attitude to life. As a child I consciously sought to play the “Glad Game” like Pollyanna; an attitude of positive thinking, that over the years I came to choose without determining to do so.

It is a needed ingredient to adopting the abundance mindset; being grateful for the good that is in you and around you. It is said that being grateful and positive even has a scientific explanation in that being grateful also triggers the chemical, dopamine in one’s brain, so that you feel happier and healthier, enabling you to have the kind of mindset that allows you to focus on what you do have and what you can do and have the ability to accomplish!

Think positively… abundantly! This is the first requirement to dreaming abundantly. THINK… DREAM… ABUNDANTLY!!