Lessons From An Empty Gas Tank

While driving to a meeting, I notice my gas gauge is low. My range indicator shows I have just two miles to go before empty. (Yes, I’m one of those people).

I’m right near a gas station charging $2.25/gallon (I’m in the northeast United States for frame of reference). I know there’s another station about five miles up the road that is charging $1.99/gallon.

Unsure if I’ll make it that far (I know from experience that I can drive for a bit even when the indicator reads “zero” ), I pull into the closest station.

“I’ll just throw in five bucks or so,” I think to myself. “Then I’ll stop at the cheaper one to fill up.”

Being short on time, this isn’t the best option, but I’ll be damned if I pay more than I have to.

As I’m pumping my gas, I calculate how much I’ll save by filling up at the second station. When I realize it’s less than four dollars, I decide to fill up now and save myself the time required to stop again.

Would it have been nice to save four bucks? Sure. But is my time and sanity worth more than that? Hell yeah it is.

As I finish my drive, I’m thinking about how I can better reconcile my deal-finding prowess (it’s one of my superpowers) with not feeding into limiting money beliefs.

Money mindset is something I’ve been working on for a bit. It’s a push-and-pull process, that’s for sure, but I’ve learned some interesting things about myself.

Depending on the day, my limiting money beliefs can convince me that:

• If I make more money and level up my lifestyle, I won’t be able to sustain it, so better just stay where I am.
• The more money I make, the more people will judge me.
• I’m not to be trusted with wealth.
• I should hold back from making more because then I’d have to pay more taxes.
• If I level up my life, people will expect even more from me.

Well it’s no wonder I sabotage my financial goals!

These beliefs are some of the core clutter on the trail I’m blazing. They may come in the form of debt or low course enrollment, but those are merely the symptoms; taps on my shoulder to dig deeper. The source of the clutter is those pesky beliefs.

Sure, I can pay down debt or up my marketing, but with this outdated thinking fueling the engine, I’m always going to find myself falling behind where I want to be. This is why it’s paramount that I focus on reversing those beliefs.

First, I come up with opposite, empowering ones, such as:

• By operating from a place of service and genuine connection, my level of success is limitless.
• I easily set boundaries with the people in my life whether that’s family, friends, or internet trolls.
• I am a smart and responsible business woman who manages her money with confidence.
• The more I pay in taxes, the more services that will be available for myself and my community.
• The only expectations that matter are my own.

Then, I write my new belief in a journal 10 times each night before bed, for at least two weeks. Might as well plant some seeds when my subconscious is about to be its most fertile!

Next, I pay attention to my behavior to see when I’m validating the old belief and pivot to support the new.

The more I behave in alignment with the empowering belief, the sooner the old one is dismantled and I welcome in abundance.

That beautiful force that is waiting in the wings to support you is invited only by action. No lip service allowed. When you begin to behave in a way that represents your vision, the universe rallies and things become easier.

This isn’t magic or woo-woo, my friend, this is the power of positive energy exchange. You take a step, then the universe takes a step. You take another and she takes another. Before you know it, you’re tango-ing all the way to your dream life!

Choosing to fill my gas tank at the higher-priced station was a direct challenge to my poverty mindset and a validation of my new belief that my needs are important and that scarcity thinking is no longer welcome.

This week, challenge your default thinking. For example, you may say you don’t have time to devote to your big dreams when in fact what you really need is to set boundaries so you can reclaim some hours and days.

Maybe you kid yourself into thinking that if you can’t get your entire kitchen organized in one sitting, why even begin. Where else might you be setting unrealistic expectations, stopping you from getting started?

Inquiring in this way will steer you in the direction of discovering the clutter under your clutter — like the money beliefs under my fear of success.

The world is your oyster, my friend. Don’t let small thinking stop you from playing BIG.