Prosperity: When Things Look Bleak

I was in a slump last week... on the verge of some pretty exciting things, but attacked by some new thoughts of concern. I had set some lofty goals some time ago, and as the target date was approaching, and as things appeared to be bleak, it took all my energy to continually push aside doubtful thoughts.

For several days in a row I was plagued by questions such as "what if it doesn't work out?" "what if you miss your goals?" "what will you do if the resources you need in order to reach your goals don't come through after all?" Each time a thought like that came into my head, I rejected it. But just rejecting it wasn't enough to leave me with burning faith, either. I was losing sight of my objectives, and felt weak in my ability to apply the very principles of prosperity I teach.

"Oh, give yourself a break, Leslie... you're just pregnant." I'm acutely aware of my emotional state when hormones are all wacky, and I've learned to trust in God's mercy in spite of myself. I believe He can bless me even when I'm not perfect (thank heavens)... and I've learned that because I choose that way of thinking over the more typical "I'm not worthy of His blessings" mentality, He is then able to send the blessings, by law...

Still, even though I have, in the past, been able to believe in my goals in spite of myself, last week was especially tough. Hope was fading, and I struggled not to just give up.

So I turned to two of my closest friends for support, and to help me fix my thinking. I knew that it was my thinking that needed fixing, even more than the circumstances around me (the lack of evidence that I would succeed). It was my thinking that needed fixing, because my success depended on it.

Let me share with you what they told me:

Marnie's advice - "Dig into gratitude for what you have and what you know is coming. Also... depression isn't such a bad thing because it makes you willing to change, helps you see contrast...also the whole [law of] rhythm thing... something great's around the corner ...refocus spiritually... D&C 6:33-37 really helped me get through [a similar slump]"

This is part of the reference she was talking about: "Therefore, fear not, little flock; do good; let earth and hell combine against you, for if ye are built upon my rock, they cannot prevail... Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not."

My husband's comment - "God hasn't brought us this far to fail..." That comment struck me like a ton of bricks. It made me think back to all of the miracles He has performed for us, and it would be absurd to think that He would bring us this far, only for us to give up on our dreams of prosperity and fail to accomplish the worthy things we've set out to do.

Suddenly, the struggle seemed like a waste of time and energy. No longer did I feel like I was IN the struggle; I felt like I had just set it aside as something I chose to have nothing to do with.

I found a quiet place and took Marnie's advice to think on all the things I have to be grateful for. And you know what? It wasn't just a nice exercise, it was literally an action step taken to get me back on track. Because I understand the laws of success, I knew that to take a half hour or an hour to allow myself to feel gratitude to God for all He has done, to the point of tears, was to put myself in harmony with Him again, and prepare myself to receive the very blessings He wants to send me.

No matter how far we come in learning these principles, we will be challenged our entire life to continue exercising those "muscles". They can atrophy if we let them. Once again, I am excited about my dreams. I also watched the movie "The Secret" again and was overcome with gratitude for the knowledge I have. It is true: we can make of our life anything we want it to be!

Above all, the only thing that really needs fixing when things look bleak are our thoughts. Get our thinking right, and everything else falls into place.

Prosper on!