Cultivating an attitude of gratitude [Creating a wealthy mindset]	Posted November 25, 2009 by Louise Goddard
	Most of us have heard the saying “you get more of what you focus on”. I would agree but making the following amendment – you get more of what you frequently focus on, accompanied with strong feeling.

If you constantly bemoan your inability to afford the things you want; if you frequently focus on poverty and lack, it’s likely you will attract more of it.

If you need to/wish to improve your financial circumstances, it makes sense – to me at least – to focus frequently, with feeling, on abundance.

Many if not most of you reading this have watched or read ‘The Secret’. One of its contributors advises cultivating an “attitude of gratitude”.

By alerting yourself to the events/things/people/pets etc that bring you joy and feeling grateful for them, you are training your subconscious to seek ‘rich times’ – not necessarily pertaining to money. I’m not an expert on the Law of Attraction, however as a Master Practitioner in the behavioural technology of Neuro-linguistic programming and a hypnotist, I am a proven expert in reprogramming the subconscious mind.

Understand some basics about your conscious and subconscious minds: your conscious mind is the mind that you actively and purposely think with all day long. You likely experience it as an internal voice throughout your day.

The conscious mind has its uses, but it is surprisingly limited in what it can achieve on its own. Research over the years has indicated that the conscious mind can only hold a few ideas at any one time. Most of your life is run automatically by your other mind – your subconscious.

Your subconscious is your ‘larger mind’ – it constantly records new information you obtain from the environment around you and stores it. It processes millions of messages containing sensory information every second. Everything you have ever seen, heard or experienced in any way has been filed away somewhere in the depths of your subconscious mind. It’s the storehouse for all of your memories and more importantly, the automatic programs that influence your thoughts (feelings, perceptions of events) and actions.
The information that has been recorded in your subconscious forms your belief systems, which impact how you think and act.
Getting back to the subject line: unless your subconscious is programmed for wealth, it is unlikely that anything you know, do or learn will make any difference in the long run. We’ve all heard of stories of celebrities who had millions and then are reported bankrupt.
Perhaps you’ve heard the term ‘poverty mentality’ bandied about? This refers to thinking constantly about what we can’t have, can’t afford.

If financial abundance is one of your goals, you need to prepare your subconscious for wealth. The quality of our thoughts determines the quality of our lives.

Let’s make a start. Take a pad and pen (or open Word and write down three things that make you happy. They can be things on which you didn’t necessarily expend extra money.

One of my three would be that last week I took my spoiled German Shepherd girl, Lucy, to a park we don’t normally visit. I didn’t realise previously that it had a wide sandy beach. As we stood on the sand looking out across the St Lawrence towards the States, I savoured a beautiful ten minutes of gazing at a lovely November sunset. I wish I’d taken my camera so I could share with you the sight I enjoyed so much – the river was as calm as a mill pond…And pink! The water was shallow and clear and a delicate shade of strawberry pink all the way to the horizon! This only lasted for ten minutes so I’m glad I stopped and enjoyed all of them

What three ‘abundant’ moments did you write or type?

Seeing someone or a pet you love? Enjoying a sunrise or sunset? Doing an activity you enjoy? Listening to some music that triggers happy memories?

The truth is, we all have moments that make us happy, that bring us joy… Sadly we often ignore them and focus on what we don’t have/don’t like and how our situations aren’t how we want them to be.
To quote Eric Hoffer: “The hardest arithmetic to master is that which enables us to count our blessings.”

Start looking for anything (healthy) that makes you feel happy, abundant and aware of the ‘wealth’ you already have in your life. You get more of what you focus on, so the more you practise looking for moments of abundance – precious moments of joy – the more you will experience.

Louise Goddard, BA Hons, M.NLP, CHt
Confidence Coach & Hypnotist

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