When he talks about these reasons it becomes obvious they are only excuses we hold onto and it is those excuses that keeps us stuck.  By throwing out those excuses we become more powerful and our life can change.

One excuse that comes to mind is: “I have never been paid more.”  This is about the past and belongs in the past.  It is time to change.  Now is the time to be paid more, the future is unwritten.  Think of all the things that had not been done until someone did them.  After they had been done many others came and repeated them.  No woman had ever been democratically elected president of a nation until Vigdis Finnbogadottir became the first one.  After her there have been many.  Before I wrote my first blog I had a very good excuse for not writing a blog.  I had never written anything like that.  I could not write and so on and so on.  Then I wrote my first blog.  After that, the excuse was not usable anymore.  Think about what excuse you have been giving yourself to not take action.  What has that excuse been costing you?  What will your life be like after you let go of the excuse?  A Life of Abundance?

Love and peace,

ElinAnna

Both places have their charm and I enjoy both.  This shows us how very different surroundings can be great when we open our eyes and hearts to it, and how it can enrich our lives.  Too often we get stuck in our ways and don’t want to change.  As a result we miss out on the great life that we are meant to live.

It doesn’t mean that there was something wrong the way we were living.  It just means that Life has more to offer and we can joyfully accept it.  It is up to us to take the opportunities that are given to us.

How can you see the opportunities that are coming your way and joyfully accept the new direction in you life?

Love and peace,

ElinAnna

You might think for yourself that this is not the case for you.  Maybe you are right.  But the money fog sneaks up on you and suddenly everything is dark.

One thing that comes with a new year is taxes.  We have to prepare our taxes, which means that we will have to look at our money.  Some people dread this time of the year.  They think it is too painful to look at their money situation.  To them, ignorance is bliss.  That reminds me of a woman I talked to last summer.  She hadn’t done her taxes, because she feared that she owed the IRS money.  When talking to her it was obvious that she was in a money fog.  She had no idea about her money, what she was earning and spending.  Her rationalization was that it was better not knowing, even after acknowledging all the fear and anxiety she was suffering from.  She was constantly saying that she couldn’t afford this and that, and there was anger in her voice as she was talking about her situation.

Finally she did her taxes, grudgingly.  When I talked to her afterwards, she told me she got money back from the IRS.  After all of these months of being afraid and suffering from anxiety, she got money back from the IRS.  She had been staying in the fog regarding her money, causing her to feel miserable for no reason at all.  When I asked her about that, she looked at me, as there was something wrong with me.  Her fog was so thick and dark that even after getting money back from the IRS, she still was staying in the fog.

When I thought about it afterwards it came to me that being in this fog and feeling afraid about her money situation was normal for her.  It didn’t even occur to her that things could be different.

How are you with money?  Are you lost in the fog and can’t find your way out of it?  What is it costing you to stay in the fog?  It is difficult to find your way to abundance when you are lost in the fog and don’t know where you are or where you are going.  Take this opportunity to get out of the fog and make this year the one when you know where you are and where you are going.  Put yourself on the path to a Life of Abundance.

Love and peace,

ElinAnna

So now you know how to increase the probability of accomplishing your New Year’s resolution.  Do the opposite of the failure described above.  Follow what the researchers found by doing the following:

1. Make a plans for how to achieve your goal
2. Involve others (get support and accountability)
3. Focus on how positive it will be when each small step of your plan is reached
4. Keep a journal over the journey to help you understand your successes so you can do them again!

and you will drastically increase the probability of reach your new year’s resolution.

So good luck and have a great New Year!

Love and peace,

ElinAnna

As I have mentioned in my previous blogs this is what we have been taught to admire.  The story was that the women that are good at taking care of others are worth the most.  Centuries ago this was very important for women’s survival as their value was measured according to their care giving abilities.  It was said that no man would leave a good caregiver.

The old days are gone and the story was just that a story, even though it affected women directly.  In today’s world, women have to care of themselves.  People can be grateful for the things that you do for them.  But, and this is a big but, you still have to take care of yourself.  Unfortunately, the stories haven’t changed much since the old days.  What has changed really drastically is reality.  In this new reality you have to take care of yourself and to do so you have to know what you need and want.

To be able to realize what your needs and wants are you have to ignore all of those voices that keep on telling you that you shouldn’t ask for too much.  How will it serve you to ask for less for yourself?  The people that you feel will think less of you if you do ask for more will not be there to see the results.  These kinds of people are not good for you.  Other people will be pissed at you for not taking care of yourself.  People that really care for you will always want the best for you.

Now when you ask yourself what you need and want, what will your answer be? Think about how your answer will help you start living a Life of Abundance.  This is the life you want to live.  So, what is you answer to this question?

Love and peace,

ElinAnna

Even though quitting smoking and healthy living, like dieting and exercise, are the most popular resolutions or lifestyle decisions for the New Year, changing their money situation is something many underearners plan on doing.  They all have different ideas about how to accomplish that.  Often it has to do with keeping track of every cent they spend, not to overdraw their checking account and so on.  Then there are those who are not going to let money ruin any more years of their lives and simply ignore money all together, with the mindset that it will all work itself out somehow.

Tackling the money problem is not easy, especially if you don’t change the way you view money.  Having a love/hate relationship with money, where the hate is the dominating factor, is not going to be very helpful.  Having negative feelings towards someone never results in a good relationship.  I know that I would never like to stay with someone who had very negative feelings towards me.  So it is no wonder money doesn’t stay.  Would you?  The the important part in getting out of this vicious cycle of underearning is to change your view of money.  Then you can start moving toward a Life of Abundance in the New Year.

Love and peace,

ElinAnna

Well it was worse when the first Thanksgiving happened.  Even though the pilgrims’ first year had been good the second one was not so good.  On top of that they had to share food with newcomers, which resulted in food shortage.  During the 3rd year there was a drought in New England, which start in the spring and resulted in crops dying in the field.  It didn’t rain until fall.  To celebrate the return of the rain the governor proclaimed a day of thanksgiving on November 29th.  Even though they hadn’t solved their food shortage they still could give thanks for the good things that were happening in their lives.

So what are you thankful for this season?

In my home we are thankful for the good people around us that give us so much joy.  We are grateful for all the opportunities we have and we are grateful for each other.  I could keep on and on, but what about you?  What are you grateful for?

Being grateful helps us live a Life of Abundance.

Love and peace,

ElinAnna

It was obvious that she had stamina to keep on going when things were against her, like her mother before her.  I learned that you keep on going no matter what.  My mother showed me what persistence and perseverance can accomplish.

Another role model was my mother’s cousin.  She became an internist when women didn’t become doctors.  She was the breadwinner of her family.  When I was a child I was going to do the same.  Life took me in another direction, but I did get my masters degree and I dared to be different from what was expected of me.

My mother died some years ago at ripe age of 86 and her cousin died last year from cancer.  It is strange to not have my role models with me today, but I am thankful for the inspiration they gave me through the years and are still giving.  Helping me on my path to a Life of Abundance.

Love and peace,

ElinAnna

We do acknowledge that it used to be like this.  For example when women had do ware girdles that nearly suffocated them, but now a days?  How can that be?  Well, some shoes are damaging women’s feet and women endure a lot pain due to problems related to shoes that we are told make us look beautiful.  Then there is the cultural pressure on how your body should look.  This calls for even more drastic adjustments, like breast implants, diets and liposuction.  It is incredible how little things have changed and it is not surprising that so many women are underearners when society makes it very hard for them to stand on their own feet, figuratively and literally.

What about women in the media?  What is reported on when a woman is in the news?  In most cases it is on how she looks, what she is wearing, and so on.  A good example of this is when First Lady Michelle Obama is in the news.  The thing that is thought to be newsworthy is how she looks, not what she says.  This is a woman that has in the past been recognized for her intelligence.  She was known as an excellent lawyer and a driver for change wherever she was.  When she talks she undoubtedly has a lot to say that is worth talking about.  Still, what is deemed newsworthy is her dress.  This is rather sad.  But at least she is a good role model intellectually and in appearance.

Who are the role models of today’s girls?  Is it the fashionable Michelle Obama or the savvy lawyer and activist Michelle Obama?

Love and peace,

ElinAnna

How can so many people have such great answers to this question and still be wrong?  There are many ways to answer this, but I am only going to talk about one,  the horrible belief that we are not worth more.  Women, especially, are very likely to hold this belief because of their upbringing.  When we have this belief everything around us confirms it.  Our brain in set to find the proves and nothing else.  If we get a compliment we explain them away, “the person is only trying to be nice” or “they had to say that”.  On top of that we belittle our work and say: “This is the same as anybody else would have done”, or “It’s nothing special about what I said or did”.  Just like before the list of excuses goes on and on.

The brain is funny in this way.  If we tell the brain something it takes it as a fact and finds all the proofs to confirm that statement.  So, if we say that we are clumsy this will be confirmed and we do clumsy things.  If we say that we are not worth more, the brain will set out to prove that.

Now, what happens if we tell ourselves that we are smart and worth much more?  Well, actually the brain will start to gather evidence to prove this statement.  This statement can not be made superficially.  We have to convince both minds, the conscious and subconscious, that this is a fact.

This sounds rather complicated, when in fact it isn’t.  You can start today with the thought that you are good with money.  Then start finding the proofs that support this statement.  When we tell our brain something and then give it direct order to find proofs the brain works wonders.  If you do not feel confident about yourself then go and look for proof that women are good with money.  There are many women in today’s world that are living proof of this statement.  Then go back and look for the proof in yourself.  It is amazing what happens in this process.  I and many others have used this process or a variation of it.

Isn’t it more fun to be looking for the positive in life?  It is through positive thoughts and beliefs that we learn how to live a Life of Abundance.

Love and peace,

ElinAnna