In response to the 19 Rules of Prosperity, J.S. writes:
“I’m afraid. I know what my dream house looks like GENERALLY, or rather, what PARTS of it look like, but I’m having a hard time with all of the other details, and I feel like I can’t move forward until I get the exact vision. I know what I want with my health, money, business and relationships, and it’s okay that I’m not sure how it’s all going to come about, but the house is something very important to me.
“I’ve moved about 30 times in my life, and never minded having the ‘adventure’ of it as my life has gone through different phases and needs–either because of my Dad’s job, or my husband’s–but now that my kids are getting older, and I’m trying to get my business off of the ground and get a real vision for where my life is going, I feel like settling in the dream-home I always thought was ‘later,’ needs to be now. It’s turning into a bit of an obsession, I’m afraid, because I keep looking at house designs and decorating ideas, and still only have bits and pieces–although they’re good pieces!
“I don’t even know exactly WHERE I will need to settle to fulfill my life’s mission(s). I have this feeling that until I get the vision exact, I won’t get [it], but am I wrong? And if I’m right, now do I nail down these details? I listen to all of your podcasts, get your newsletter and read your books (some of these more than once) and I choose to believe. I just need a little advice–something to clarify this for me so I can move on.”
My reply:
Great question. All you need to do is list the things, features, or qualities about your ideal life that you ARE certain about it, and then at the end of the list say, “All this or something better.” When I don’t have all the details in mind, I trust that God knows best and I trust him to lead me to it. Put the fear away.
Here’s something I wrote to someone else, which may help:
I would suggest proceeding with the intention and prayer that it be “all this” (from your list), “or something better”. So this leaves it open to God giving you something even better than what’s on your list, and you may not know what’s better about it until you settle in. We did this for a home in 2004. It was everything on our list except it didn’t have the grass I wanted. But it was everything else, so we went for it and figured we could add grass later. Well, after we moved in, we found out that the homes in our neighborhood with grass had serious scorpion problems. We decided to keep it landscaped just the way it was. It was better without it. Also, along with that intent, you could add the intent, “We’ve decided to do THIS… is this right?” and look for a peaceful confirmation. If you don’t get a stupor, or confusion right off the bat, but it isn’t a super strong confirmation of peace, then you can proceed with a “stop us if we’re wrong” approach.
God doesn’t always tell us everything we should do, but he can steer us as long as we’re rolling 🙂
Her response:
“Thank you, Leslie! This is a HUGE relief. I have had the thought more than once that God knows what I need, but I’ve kept feeding the nagging feeling that He won’t give it to me until I show Him my exact desires. I love your advice! I appreciate permission to, ‘Put the fear away.’ That’s something I realized I’ve been waiting for. Thank you, again! Now, I feel I can move forward without fretting over details that aren’t perfect, yet. I will do my best to write down EVERYTHING I can think of, and then send it up to the Lord and trust Him. Thanks, again–so much!”
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4 Responses
Leslie, I love your work. I’m listening to Portal to Genius again (after the Jackrabbit Factor of course), probably for the tenth time. Your ideas feel so right. Sometimes though, it seems like I do better without very specific goals but just to put myself in God’s hands. Also, I often can’t stop feelings of fear and doubt creeping in. Knowing how harmful they are to attracting the things that I want actually creates more fear and doubt. So then it can escalate into anxiety. How do I work around that?
Hi Don! I’ve often felt the same way about specific goals – sometimes it IS better left open-ended. The goal is to just make sure you’re not the limiting factor in what can happen for you. As far as avoiding anxiety, read this: What if It’s Impossible to Think Right Perfectly?
Thank you for this. I’m going to have to read this again and follow your advice. Our property has been on the market for 7 months with lots of showings but no offers. I keep telling myself, God knows what and when, when it’s right it’ll happen. I have a specific list of what I we NEED in our new home. My husband technically has incurable cancer and is 6 years past his ‘expiration’ date. I don’t like to think about it, but if we move into a 3 car garage 4 bedroom home and he gets sick and passes, I would have to sell and downsize soon… Morbid I know, but I’ve been praying about this lately and your advice will help me.
Thank you so much for posting this conversation! I’ve been wondering these same things. I don’t need all of the details. I do need to trust God. Thank you for the tips to getting a peaceful confirmation as well. I love how you state things and how you wrap spiritual principles with success principles. I am so a fan of yours!