Stepping into Abundance: How to Make the Transition From Struggling to Succeeding

I’ve often asked myself why some people struggle and others succeed. Money plays a crucial role, sure. If you come from wealth, chances are you’ll attract more of it.

But things get really interesting when you see some struggling people succeed while others don’t.

That makes me think it’s not just environmental or socio-economic factors at play.

Here’s a true story that I went through.

After a few years of successful freelancing, an acquaintance asked me for advice on starting a freelance side gig. Mind you, he was already employed full-time at that time – he just wanted a side income.

Still, he had all these inexplicable fears and questions: “how can I talk business with my clients?”, “what if they don’t like my work and ask for more edits?” “what if it doesn’t work out?”

As you can imagine, he never made the leap.

As for me – years later, I still think about his struggles, which remind me of that meme with a kid struggling to swim in shallow waters.

That’s why I decided to write an article based on facts, numbers, and calculations to help others step into abundance.

Let’s get straight to it.

1. Identifying Habitual Patterns That May Be Holding You Back

Habitual patterns that hold you back from abundance include :

• Focusing too much on what you cannot do
• Believing your dreams are impossible or unachievable
• Being overwhelmed by fear of failure
• Underestimating yourself and your capabilities

What do all these things have in common?

Overthinking.

Multiple studies show overthinking is a negative habit because it prevents us from taking action.

Other habits that hinder action include:

• Endlessly scrolling on social media instead of using that time to learn something useful: We’ll discuss the numbers below on this one.
• Sleeping in: Harvard University poses that sleeping in can actually make you more tired. I don’t know about you, but I’m not in the mood for action when I’m tired.
• Wasting your resources: Financial literacy is essential for prosperity. However, financially illiterate Singaporeans who earn more tend to spend more.

2. Finding Ways To Increase Your Abundance and Prosperity

I saw a good quote on Instagram today of all places. It said the only way to fight overthinking is with intentional thinking.

So, to move from struggling to succeeding, you need to replace these negative habits with positive ones that will propel you forward.

I like to crunch my numbers, so let’s look at some Math:

In Singapore, we spend 7 hours and 29 minutes daily on the Internet, of which 2 hours and 53 minutes are on social media. And over 87% of Singaporeans are doing it.

Now imagine investing those three hours per day in yourself.

• Learning a new skill can bring you a new job.
• Learning the basics of building an investment portfolio can bring wealth during retirement.

Yes, I know. I saw that study saying it takes 10,000 hours to master a skill to a proficiency level.

But the thing is, you don’t necessarily want to become proficient. Studies show that it takes as little as 20 hours to become knowledgeable in a new area.

Bestselling author Josh Kaufman teaches how you can do it in just a month, spending 30 minutes per day on your new skill.

If you invest two of the three hours you spend on social media daily, you can learn that new skill in just 10 days. For example, you can become a software tester.

The average base salary is $5,132/month. Therefore, a 4-hour part-time contract can bring you an additional $2,566/ month. A 2-hour contract increases your income by $1,283.

So, learning a new skill is one way to increase abundance.

What are other ways?

• Learn to budget: If you don’t know how to organise your budget, you will spend more than you make. Credit Counselling Singapore has a slew of classes teaching you how to reduce debt, plan your budget and move into prosperity. All these classes combined take just 19.5 hours. But there are plenty of other tools online that you can use.

Pro tip: I started my budgeting journey with a notebook where I religiously wrote all my expenses. The old pen and paper worked better than any app for me because it felt more intentional.

• Open a business: If you like watching YouTube, like most of our Millennial generation, consider watching the videos our government made on opening a business. You need two hours to fully process the information here – so just one day without social media.
• Learn to invest: The SGX has produced this helpful Beginner’s Guide to Investing. It takes about 30 hours to fully understand the basics of creating your portfolio. If you allocate 2h/day to this, you can start a basic portfolio in three weeks.
• Take a personal loan: A personal loan can help you further your education. It can pay your CPF housing debt to buy a better flat or even decrease your other loans’ loan-to-value (LTV) limits. All those things can increase your prosperity if you do the math. Which I did in this article.

3. Home & Environment Clearing for Greater Abundance

Studies show that clutter induces stress and anxiety. And I figure those lead to overthinking. To plan your way to success, you need to feel comfortable and calm in your environment.

So, a clean home and environment attract prosperity because:

• You will think more clearly and work more efficiently: According to research, clutter increases cognitive overload, leading to memory problems. That means you can’t learn any new skill or plan your budget in a cluttered home.
• You will feel better and have higher self-esteem: Several studies underline that a tidy home keeps you healthy and happy. The active changes in your brain, overall health and hormone system health prove this. So, you can ride the wave of happiness hormones to start improving yourself.
• You can find a business idea: For example, you can sell your wedding suit or that foldable baby carriage you were stowing away for your grandkids. Or, you can even clear out and rent an entire room in your home to get a side income.

You don’t need a huge chunk of time, either. 30 minutes of daily housekeeping can be enough to keep your home organised, free from clutter, and clean

4. Releasing Limiting Beliefs and Fears Around Money

As I’m writing this part, I can’t help but think about my friend’s limiting beliefs about his ability to make money from freelancing. Research shows these limiting beliefs come from unverbalised, learned experiences we’ve hidden in our subconscious. These experiences are part of our culture, and we’ve accumulated them during childhood.

Toxic, limiting beliefs around money include:

• Money is difficult to come by.
• Money doesn’t bring happiness.
• Rich people are selfish.
• It’s wrong to be wealthy.
• Loans are bad.

These are all ideas we’ve learnt from books and movies. Dickens’s “A Christmas Carol” is the first one that pops into my head, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen a movie or book where rich people are not seen as greedy, evil-ish bastards.

And, of course, we all know the stereotype of money not being able to buy happiness.

That’s true to some extent.

But no person, rich or poor, is 100% good all the time. And sure, many rich people fight depression, anxiety, and loneliness – according to the therapists treating them.

Let’s face it, though.

You and I aren’t going to become billionaires. We can live prosperous lives, though. We can have enough money to do the things we like without struggling.

We can plan an impromptu trip to Cyprus in February.

Here’s something from my personal experience about loans and wealth:

Like almost all Singaporeans, I, too, had this ingrained idea that loans are the last resort. This changed when I needed to buy a car. I used to ride the MRT all the time when I didn’t have kids.

When kids came, I found that driving them to and fro with the MRT was too time-consuming and brain-wrecking.

A car loan and a Seat Toledo later, I can easily save three hours per day, which I invest in my mental health, learning, and quality family time.

So, stop and reassess your strategy when something doesn’t work (in my case hurdling the kids around from station to station). Sleuth out the bias at the root of this inefficient behaviour and slash it.

5. Affirmations and Visualisations For More Abundance

To transition from struggling to succeeding, it’s important to develop a growth mindset. A growth mindset is an attitude that views challenges and failures as opportunities for learning and growth rather than obstacles or something negative.

I was originally sceptical about using these tools because they sound so esoteric. I like science and facts, and I couldn’t believe that imagining something could make that thing materialise.

But studies have shown that affirmations and visualisations can:

• Change your mindset
• Make you calmer and more determined
• Keep you focused

Affirmations and visualisations for abundance can include the following:

• I am open to receiving abundance in all its forms.
• Money is circulating in my life.
• My bank accounts are full of cash.
• I have financial freedom.
• I can easily create wealth with ease and joy.

Visualisations for abundance can involve imagining yourself doing something you would do with more money, such as taking a luxurious vacation or starting a business.

Doing this regularly will dispel your scarcity thinking and motivate you to start a budget and find solutions to your problems.

For example, if you need to invest $2,000 in a course that will bring you a $5,000 job later, you’ll be more inclined to think of reasonable ways to make it happen. Without this growth mindset, you’ll fall prey to your old biases and fears around money.

6. Connecting With Others in the Field of Abundance

Connecting with others in the field of abundance is essential to growing wealth. We all need a support system to encourage us when we fail and celebrate with us when we succeed.

• Find like-minded people who have achieved financial freedom: They may provide valuable insight into how to use your extra income or where to invest it, for example.
• Connecting with others can also help you to be more motivated and inspired: Research shows that your friends can help you change your habits. When someone has similar goals to yours, it’s more likely that you both will push each other to work harder and achieve your ambitions.
• Connecting with others can provide a sense of community: This can help you feel more encouraged and supported during difficult times. Besides, people without a growth mindset have negative biases around money. And that negativity can actually change your brain and make you doubt yourself. Why? Many studies show that it’s our natural tendency to conform our behaviours and mindsets to the group we’re part of.

7. Taking Action and Celebrating Wins Along The Way

This is the last step in my plan, but it’s easiest to implement as soon as you stop reading this. So:

• Make a to-do list for the day to become more productive.
• Contact CCS for a budgeting course.
• Watch a YouTube video on investments.

You can take charge immediately.

One small action will make you feel good and help you keep the ball rolling.

While you will eventually make mistakes, use them as an opportunity to learn. And remember to celebrate that victory.

About Loanstreet Singapore

Loanstreet can help you take charge of your finances. One personal loan now can help you start an investment portfolio, create a home business, or learn an in-demand skill.

This platform allows you to get the best personal loan quote for FREE across banks and moneylenders in Singapore. Applying with your SingPass takes less than a minute, and they’ll get you your best option across lenders.