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Recently, I took a Soul Cycle spin class with my favorite instructor, Angela Davis. I knew going in that the great workout I would get would be just one part of my experience. Every time I take her class, I leave with a shift in perspective, a deep feeling of gratitude for life, and a reset!

Before Angela teaches every class, she grounds herself in her faith and connects with her intuition to find an authentic message for her students. Every message seems to somehow connect with my life at that time, as if she came up with the theme especially for me! I am sure so many people feel this way. How powerful is that? The other week, her message was on abundance. She moved around the room speaking with conviction from her heart, “we must believe in ourselves,” she said. “We must believe in our abilities to understand that we have everything on the inside of us that we need to be.”

This message really struck a chord with me. Sometimes we can get caught up in what we are lacking in life, which is the opposite of abundance. We can get lost in the challenges or obstacles we are facing in our lives or in our work. We can easily get fixated on the things we want — but don’t yet have. While these things often monopolize our thoughts, there are so many things in our lives that actually deserve our attention, our time and our love.

Abundance is a mindset. It’s resting in the feeling of goodness about what you have right in front of you. You’re not missing anything, because you already have it all. It’s seeing the opportunities instead of obstacles. It’s focusing on the good. It’s being fueled by family, friends, and the simple things. It’s grounding ourselves in who we are and what truly matters, every chance we get.

Whenever the complications of life try to steal my peace or pull me out of a place of abundance, I remind myself of what’s most important and revisit a few practices I’ve found extremely powerful over the years, regardless of my situation. These five practices have become the tools that keep me grounded in all that I have and all that I am. I hope these practices can inspire and empower you to feel the abundance in your life, every day.

1. Practice Gratitude As A Way of Living
I truly believe the key to feeling abundance is to be so grateful and happy with what you have now. Even when I didn’t have much, I used to tell myself to want less. While I may have more now, I continually try to ground myself (and my kids!) by focusing on being happy with what we have and knowing we are enough. Gratitude is the bridge to abundance. This is something I have practiced my entire life and it continues to be a very real-time practice for me. I will often be in meetings, or in the kitchen eating with my kids, and I make a conscious effort to stop and simply be thankful for every one of these moments. It honestly fills me up to practice gratitude as a way of life!

2. Find Joy In Everything
I love being able to take care of myself through hard work and am blessed to do what I love now. This was not always the case! When I was going through challenging times, I would look to find happiness in almost everything that I did and it’s a practice I’ve kept until this day. In every aspect of my life, I try to practice being grateful, mindful and present in the moment. Our community, Heartfelt, is a newfound tool for me to find joy each day! I am especially moved when I see an amazing post in the group and when you reach out to me with such sincere and kind words. When I reflect on my life, I feel so lucky, abundant and filled with joy.

3. Be the Captain of Your Life
If I don’t feel in a place of abundance, I try to change my situation or change my perspective. If I am lacking family-time, I will clear my schedule to spend more time with my kids and my husband. Take charge of your life and happiness. If you don’t like something about your current circumstances, change it — right now. If you see yourself where you want to be in the end, I believe you will move towards that goal.

4. Show Happiness for Others
While we all face the pressures of social media, I try hard to not make comparisons. Abundance is infinite. There is enough for everyone. Wayne Dyer even says that abundance is an equal opportunity employer! I can be happy for the success of others because people deserve good fortune and this in no way diminishes what I have. Abundance is all around us – for all of us.

5. Express Generosity
Generosity is an attitude. In fact, the Dalai Lama said, “generosity is the most natural outward expression of an inner attitude of compassion and loving-kindness.” Being generous is a way of showing love and compassion to others and is one of the most powerful ways I feel abundance in my life. Regardless of what we have, we always have something to give. Whether it’s a smile, a kind word to someone in need, a donation or a seat in a waiting room — being generous with our words, thoughts and actions fills us up with abundance like nothing else.

What are your practices to cultivate abundance in your everyday life? Please share them with me in the comments section below or in our closed Facebook Community, Heartfelt By Laurie Felt.

With love,

Laurie