It’s hard for most of us to let go. We want to be proactive, hands-on, and fully involved.

But when we try to hard, overthink, and just refuse to let go and allow things to flow, we risk pinching ourselves off from the source of all abundance. Life is not meant to be a dire struggle, yet many of us are addicted to the idea of struggling, pushing, and working hard to “make things happen”.

When I was younger I didn’t care much about money or responsibility. To be honest I spent most of my days drinking beer, chasing women (most of whom ignored me), and just goofing off.

I had fun. And I never went without anything.

In fact things just had a way of coming into my life. I always had enough money to get by, people gave me cars, and food & shelter were always plentiful.

Of course I eventually started thinking about having more money. And I decided to “grow up” and start working hard.

I made many big changes in my life, but the going was rough. While I was making substantial progress, it seemed there was a ceiling on how good things could get.

After a few years of traditional J-O-Bs I was able to start working from home. And I made more and more money each year.

But at the same time, I was never able to really break free and experience the kind of abundance I wanted. Money would come in, stay for a while, then vanish and I’d really have to struggle to get it back.

This went on for a long time. Then one day as I reflected on my “past life” as a drunken couch surfer with no worries, I had an epiphany.

No, I didn’t decide to start drinking again and shut down my business. I just realized that I had forgotten how to relax and allow blessings to flow to me in the natural manner.

It wasn’t until I really began to let go of my own need to control things that my life began to unfold in the wonderful way I truly wanted. Hard work, goals, and discipline are great, and all have their place in this life.

But more important than all of these is the ability to trust the greatest good to flow through our lives. Our dreams begin to manifest when we can focus on what we want, put in a little hard work to get it, and then let go and allow things to come together without micro-managing.

Every great teacher of manifestation talks about letting go and allowing. Yet somehow these concepts are easily lost, as we strive to work work work and push things forward, so to speak.

I’m reminded of a passage from the Tao Te Ching:

“Good work is done and then forgotten, and thus it lasts forever.”

I thought I understood this verse long ago. But now, having actively studied the laws of attraction and abundance for some time, I see these wonderful words with a new and powerful clarity.

My highest aspiration now is to trust, allow, and let the great life I want manifest. Does this mean I’m all done working and setting goals?

OF COURSE NOT!

But rather than work and strain under the guidance of my ego mind, I must allow inspiration to lead my efforts. When I move from my intuitive center I am always on track to create the best possible results.

At the same time, when I expect miracles in my daily life, and wake up each day with the utmost faith that incredible things are going to happen all around me, I am harnessing the power to build worlds within my small corner of creation.

Do you find yourself often furrowing your brow, tensing up at the shoulders, and really leaning into your work with a kind of tired resignation, yet feeling always as if your dreams are just out of reach? If so begin to cultivate hte practice of just letting go and trusting the greatest good to flow naturally.

It’s incredible what happens within a small frame of time when you combine this kind of relaxed faith with confident visualization and moment-by-moment gratitude. The world has a way of opening up when you are in alignment with this simple philosophy…

Negative thinking… it’s a killer of dreams and drainer of energy. And we all suffer from it on some level.

It can be pretty frustrating to accept all the spontaneous doubts and fears that just leap out of our minds like unwanted pop up windows. It can be like surfing the Web a couple of years ago: you’re crusing along just fine when out of nowhere… BAM… you get it by a pop up that won’t close!

And I was just thinking about how new Web browsers and default operating system tools have made the pop up ad pretty much obsolete on the Internet. By the same token we can achieve a state of mind where negative thinking is reduced to a passing shadow.

We can install a sort of pop up killer in our minds that eradicates negative thoughts and images the moment they occur. Keep reading for suggestions on how I do this.

It’s worth pointing out that our tendency to think in “negative” terms is believed by scientists to be an attribute left over from a more primitive time. Thousands of years ago (and longer) our species had a lot of “competition” and numerous natural enemies; it is commonly assumed the general state of awareness for early humans was one of negative expectation.

Survival actually depended on assuming the worst possibility was waiting just over the next hill or that great danger was constantly at hand. Today, with less legitimate concern about predators (in the developed world at least) and far less worry associated with basic survival needs, this instinctive mental energy is channeled into other forms of apprehension.

So if you struggle with doubt, fear, mistrust, and insecurity the fact is you are functioning from a somewhat normal state. But the good news is that we don’t have to accept this condition as permanent.

Since we are far more developed than our primitive ancestors we can choose to recognize the “flaw” in our thought patterns and actively deal with it. Here’s how:

Recognizing What Thoughts Really Are (And Aren’t)

First of all, we can understand that our thoughts flow constantly through our minds. Perhaps they come from memories, current experience, and impressions that have been suggested by others; whatever their source the majority of our thoughts just rise and subside constantly like tidal waters.

We do not have to identify or associate directly with any of the thoughts that pass through our minds. We are NOT our thoughts - in fact our thoughts are simply a naturally occurring stream of information produced by the phenomenon of consciousness.

What this essentially means is you can affirm to yourself that your thoughts do not own you, nor are they a firm representation of who/what you are! You have the power to entertain and accept only those thoughts that serve you, and to simply let negative thoughts pass away.

This realization was one of the most empowering moments of my life. In fact coming to this point in your self-awareness is very much a part of the mental and emotional enlightenment that spiritual adepts seek through years of meditation and contemplation.

There is no need to feel threatened or controlled by your thoughts. You can simply choose to acknowledge and use them, to watch them as they drift away, or to pay them no heed at all!

Transmuting Negative Thoughts Without Resisting Them

Another powerful technique you can use is to simply recognize a negative thought and then use the momentum of the thought process to literally transmute, or transform, it into positive thinking.

Once you become aware of negative thinking or images, immediately ask yourself: “What is it I really want?”

This provides you with the opportunity to insert your positive alternative and, using the energy created by the initial negative thought, literally transform your current thought process to a supportive one. For example…

Let’s say Claire is driving to meet her date at the movies for their first time out. She begins to imagine him turning out to be a jerk who is only interested in her for physical reasons; this is a common issue with men she meets and this concern pops up often when she meets someone new.

Immediately upon becoming aware of the negative thought she asks herself: “If I don’t want to meet another jerk, then what is it I really want?”

She answers the question with: “I want a guy who has a real interest in getting to know who I am, what I like and don’t like, and what I think about important issues.”

With this, she finds herself imagining the man she is on her way to meet as a charming character who asks her lots of questions and hangs on her every word. And he’s not just playing along - he really seems to want to hear her thoughts! In a matter of seconds Claire is immersed in a vivid fantasy about having her ideal date!

This is a very powerful advanced thought technique. It takes a little practice, and it requires you to seek awareness of the current moment throughout your day. But it is definitely something you can master with just a little work.

I hope these ideas help you overcome your negative thinking and install your own mental pop up killers.

For many of us, there is a subtle energy within us that works to derail our highest goals. Maybe we’re afriad of failure, but in many cases we’re scared of success.

For instance, if you ever get nervous when things are going really well, you are struggling with self sabotage issues. Maybe you feel a disaster must be just around the corner if things are going to plan for you, or perhaps you just can’t emotionally handle it when things are good.

This is more common than most people realize. It’s pretty crazy, and you can actually live out your life without ever realizing this unless you take the time to observe, or unless a friend points it out for you. Watch yourself; do you handle success and happines well?

If you feel discomfort when things are going well for you, I urge you to watch your thoughts and feelings closely. Try to identify how you feel - is it nervousness, irritability, or something else?

Becoming aware is the first step. Once you catch yourself entertaining this kind of subtle, self defeating energy, simply replace it with positive affirmations and visualizations. I also recommend you use basic meditation to help you direct your energies, and check out one or more other studies such as EFT (emotional freedom technique), Yoga, or Ho’oponopono.

The fact that you know what is going on means you have the power to change things. And ultimately this is about your knowing you deserve greatness.