Abundance Isn’t More

The quiet power of noticing what’s already here

For a long time, I thought abundance was something you arrived at.

Not something you practiced.
Not something you noticed.
Something you earned.

I believed abundance lived on the other side of “enough.”

Enough money.
Enough margin.
Enough success.
Enough calm.

I told myself—often without realizing it—that once things settled down, then I’d feel abundant. Once I wasn’t hustling so hard. Once life felt more under control. Once I had a little buffer.

Until then, I was waiting.

And waiting, it turns out, is a terrible place to live.

Happiness didn’t disappear; it just couldn’t keep up with my pace.

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The trap of “more than enough”

Here’s what I didn’t see at the time: I wasn’t chasing abundance—I was postponing it.

Because when abundance is defined as having more, the present moment is always insufficient by default.

There’s always one more goal.
One more box to check.
One more season to get through.

Even good moments felt provisional. Temporary. Something to rush past on the way to a better version of life that never quite arrived.

I had meaningful work. Supportive people. Small joys sprinkled throughout my days.

But I didn’t let them count.

Most happiness isn’t missing; it’s being skipped.

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What finally shifted

The shift didn’t come from earning more, achieving more, or optimizing my life harder.

It came from noticing.

Noticing the moments I usually blew past:

• A good conversation that didn’t need documenting

• The first quiet sip of coffee before the day got loud

• A student’s breakthrough that deserved more than a mental checkmark

• A laugh that didn’t need a follow-up task

When I actually let those moments finish, something surprising happened.

Life started to feel fuller without adding anything.

Abundance showed up not as excess—but as enough.

Burnout grows when good moments never get the chance to land.

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Noticing changes the math

Here’s the part we tend to underestimate: attention reshapes experience.

When our attention is trained on what’s missing, scarcity expands—even in good circumstances.

When our attention is trained on what’s present, abundance grows—without requiring more time, money, or effort.

This isn’t pretending everything is fine.
It’s recognizing that not everything is broken.

Abundance isn’t an inventory problem.
It’s an awareness problem.

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Finishing moments instead of rushing them

One of the most practical shifts I’ve made is this: letting moments complete.

That looks like:

• Pausing for a few seconds after something goes well

• Acknowledging “that mattered” before moving on

• Resisting the urge to immediately optimize or improve the moment

Tiny pauses. No big rituals.

But those pauses create space—and space is where abundance actually lives.

I wasn’t short on time; I was short on space between things.

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A quieter definition of abundance

Here’s the definition I’m working with now:

Abundance is the felt sense that what’s here is allowed to count.

Not because it’s extraordinary.
Not because it’s impressive.
Not because it’s permanent.

But because it’s real.

And real, when noticed, is often enough.

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Phil’s Happiness Practice

The 10-Second Abundance Pause

Once a day, when something goes even slightly well:

• A pleasant interaction

• A task completed

• A calm moment

• A small win

Pause for 10 seconds.

No phone.
No commentary.
No improvement plan.

Just name it silently:
This counts.

You’re not adding anything to your life.
You’re letting something stay.

And over time, that’s what abundance actually feels like.