Living in the Land of Lack?

Is it just me, or is anyone else sick and tired of living in the Land of Lack? What, and where, is this Land of Lack, you ask?You sound as if you don’t know. Maybe you don’t.Perhaps you don’t have any firsthand knowledge of the Land of Lack because you’ve never lived there or never even visited there. If that’s true, then consider yourself blessed. If that’s you, stop right now and express gratitude that you’ve been spared serving hard-time in the Land of Lack.[clickToTweet tweet="All time in the Land of Lack is hard-time. No one serves a light sentence there." quote="All time in the Land of Lack is hard-time. No one there is serving a light sentence."]If you’ve never been to the Land of Lack, perhaps you should read on just to increase your empathy for the rest of us who have either visited the Land of Lack or had a permanent address there.What is this Land of Lack? How does one end up there? More importantly, how do you leave the Land of Lack and never go back? Let’s not get ahead of ourselves yet.The Land of Lack is multifacetedOn some days, the Land of Lack is dark and hopeless. It’s shrouded in a dense fog. So dense and dark that the fog is all you see.If you held up your hand in front of your face, you wouldn’t see it. You can’t see it. You know it’s there, you feel it, but you can’t quite make it out.Then, there are days when the fog lifts a little allowing you to see barren land. It’s like a dry, parched desert. Or maybe you see an old river dried bed where water once flowed, but now all you see is cracked and crusty ground. You can tell that at one time, things lived there. But not anymore. Maybe there was a disaster that wiped out every living thing.When you are living in the Land of Lack, there are three dominant thoughts running on a continuous loop in your mind.

You are NOT enough.You do not HAVE enough.You cannot DO enough.

Maybe the loop in your mind uses different words to express those same thoughts, but you recognize the themes.Here’s a personal example from a journal entry. Apparently, I was living in the Land of Lack the day I wrote this entry. That probably goes without saying, merely by the choice of words used in the question I was pondering.What, specifically is it, that limits my thinking, doing, and being?Right away, you recognized this question as a frequently asked question by Land of Lack residents, didn’t you?What was your first clue?Ah, yes, the word limits. If that wasn’t not enough to clue you in, here are the lines that followed.It pains me to share these. It's somewhat embarrassing for me to admit that my thinking was so stinking. But I share my pain to connect with you in yours and in hopes that together, we find the courage to move forward.This is my real, unedited journal entry that answered that pitiful “poor little me” question:

Lack of clarity.Lack of focus.Lack of persistence.

Can you relate?Fortunately, I had the presence of mind to recognize the slippery slope I was starting down. And here’s what I wrote next.

Whoa! Stop yourself right there!

I could continue this list, but I think I already see the common theme. At this very moment, I believe that if the list had 10 - 20 things, even if I built it out to 100 things, they would ALL share one common trait. Most, if not all, of them, would begin with the phrase, I lack.

My PERCEIVED lack. The embedded belief that I AM not enough do NOT have enough, or can NOT do enough IS what is truly holding me back.

And that my friends, is that it is like living in the Land of Lack.Some of you might be wondering, what happens if you stay there?Well, nothing good, that’s for sure!Residents of the Land of Lack hobble along sipping a toxic cocktail of complaining, comparison, and complacency.You may complain about the person who let you down or altogether left you. Whether it was a parent, a partner, or a friend. You blame shift. It seems there is always someone else who was at fault and on which you can pass the blame.Or maybe you complain about a bad decision, bad timing, or just plain old bad luck. Most of us have made at least one bad decision along the way.Residents in the Land of Lack look at others and wonder, exactly what is it about them, their background, or their “special” situation that allows them to “get all the breaks.”Worst of all, you decide this is as good as it gets. And, for whatever reason, you are destined for a lifetime in the Land of Lack.In case you don’t know, the Land of Lack exists in every part of the world. It has no geographic boundaries.Amazing isn’t it? The Land of Lack is quite small but incredibly powerful. The land mass of the Land of Lack is less than four square inches. You see it is a state of mind.A dark and depressing place rooted deep in your mind. The Land of Lack functions like a supercomputer that is perpetually pumping messages and flooding your brain with reminders of what you don’t have, what you can’t get, and what you can’t do.STOP IT! You don’t have to believe those lies any longer.Start packing your things, well, not all of them, and leave the Land of Lack. There are some things you may have grown quite comfortable with, that may have even served you well in the Land of Lack, but they have no place in the Land of Plenty.I’ve got great news for you!You can leave today. You need not give a 30-day notice. Just break the lease. Get the heck out of Dodge before sundown. Do not spend another night in torment in the Land of Lack.In my next post, I will share a story that helped me find my way out.Take action NOW!

• Make a decision that you are leaving the Land of Lack.
• Find someone who can help you and schedule time to connect.
• Join the Living Your WHY Facebook Group to connect with a group of positive peers.
• Schedule a quick connect call with me. We will discuss whatever is on your mind.
• Subscribe to access the rest of the series.

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