This is a minisode – a short, spoken essay on a topic relevant to the journey towards lifestyle optimization.

Today, I wanted to talk about the nearly impossible task of creating from the place of scarcity. When we’re taxed, mentally, physically or emotionally, we are not capable of creating the opportunities we want out of life. This episode is my mental review of some of my challenges.

So where do we create from? A place of abundance.

My question for you is; where in your life right now are you trying to create something from a place of scarcity? Is it in your work, your fitness, your family, your mindfulness?

Today’s challenge: Find 3 attitudes, beliefs, assumptions, or paradigms that need to change for you to move from a place of scarcity to a place of abundance.

Mine? Here they are:

  1. Personal budgeting has always been a challenge for me. Money goes out but it’s not working for me. I’m working for it. My paradigm about how to spend money, and how to save money, needs to change in order to create long-term financial stability (financial abundance).
  2. Recently, my assumption that I was a skilled (yet still developing) leader was challenged. There were valid points to the argument that I was not quite so astute. I learned that I had assumed that what people were telling me was the truth. The gap between reality and perception was vast to some people, causing trust in me to be scarce or suspiciously withheld by some. In order to grow into a better leader, I need to conduct an honest self-assessment that could fortify weakness and develop abundance (more on this in a later episode).
  3. I’ve recently been consumed with some work events, changing command staff, possible transfers, high-priority incidents and some employee development challenges. I’m exhausted. In fact, I took a whole week off just to step away a bit and recharge. But back at it, my battery power was sapped almost immediately – it was scarce. I brought his home too, collapsing onto the couch. My wife is facing her own challenging moments and I’m so far into my own head that I haven’t been as present for her as I could – or should – be.  I need to direct more effort to being present with her to create an abundant relationship.

This episode is sponsored by SB Tactical and the iCombat Active Shooter Training System. iCombat just released their in-home training pistol, the iCombat Pro. Check it out here and visit SBTactical.com for more information, or to read my guest blog post about my first experience using iCombat.