My 98 year old great aunt has the best personal growth mantra of all time. AFGO. It stands for “another fu#$*ing growth opportunity”. That’s really what all of this is about, this earth school thing. Every annoying person or long line or painful experience, it’s all here to teach us and help us grow.
My aunt isn’t the first one to describe this of course, but with her years of practical wisdom she really knows what she’s talking about. She lived her golden years, until recently, on the family property she grew up on in California with her two sisters. They all had their own homes, and as their health and energy allowed would take walks (very short walks) to each other’s houses for coffee and chatting time. Maybe a little bit of gossip, we called it the Granny net.
She recently move into a facility where she will be more comfortable and taken care of. Even as her two sisters passed away in 2016, they were all so close and best friends until the end, she, the oldest is hanging in there. I’m sure part of her longevity is this attitude of AFGO that she has integrated into her being.
To me, this is a continual practice of remembering. I’m the one who chose this. I signed up for all of this on a soul level to learn how to grow and expand. There are no problems, I am not a victim, life is a teacher, and I am a student. Eckhart Tolle has another beautiful quote that relates here and helps guide the way I live my life “Life will give you whatever experience is most helpful for the evolution of your consciousness.”
What if you asked for all of the experiences you are going through because you knew they were exactly what you needed to evolve and expand? What if challenges are actually a blessing not a frustration because they create the necessary contrast to know what you really want? What if everything is an opportunity to practice maintaining your positive frequency no matter what the circumstances? What if everything is happening for you rather than to you?
That perspective really changes everything. I’m not saying it’s easy or quick to transform the way you look at things, but with conscious awareness and gentle practice the sweet little neural networks in your brain can begin to catch up to the level of conscious awareness your body and soul have known all along. There are no problems, all is love and growth. Everything is always working out for you.
Some ways to practice being in the flow of AFGO energy are:
- Start with awareness. The more present and aware we are the more effectively we can intervene in the old unconscious patterns that keep us in worry and fear energy rather than the energy of “what is this here to teach me?” This means to check in often with how you are thinking and feeling internally. At least once an hour taking a mindful breath, for example, and scanning your body for any tension. Asking yourself “what am I feeling right now?” The better you get at knowing yourself and your baseline of feelings, thoughts and sensations, the more quickly you will be able to shift away from tension when it arises and into an excitement about the opportunity before you.
- Start investigating without judgment the times you are triggered into upset, and noticing any patterns or themes around the triggers. This helps you to learn about yourself and be more prepared to change perspectives when they come up in the future. For example, if you know that you always get frustrated in traffic, start prepaving the trip next time before you get on the road by changing the internal dialogue “what if all of these slow drivers are here to teach me patience?” and “I’m willing to let my commute and the emotions that are triggered to help teach me to shift my vibration back to peace no matter the circumstances”. Shifting to sending all of the other drivers on the road love and compassion with the understanding that we are all one and working towards the same thing can help the AFGO process. The understanding is that someone cutting you off in traffic is not actually attacking you personally, they are probably just late for work. They are here to teach you compassion and trust.
- Gently taking some inventory of other things in your life that have seemingly been problems or negative events in your life but have actually been transformational in your learning about who you really are. This can help reinforce the concept that this is actually happening all the time whether we are aware of it or not. The job that you lost, for example, actually led the way to you taking time off to find your true calling and go after creating that instead.
- Finding or cultivating some spiritual running buddies to discuss the learning opportunities in both of your lives. Having support and a safe space to process the shifts in awareness from a victim mentality to an empowered soul on a mission of learning really expands and accelerates the process for all involved.
- Surrender, surrender, surrender. When you feel you’ve surrendered enough, keep surrendering. Letting go of control of the outcome is a giant part of letting the universe teach you. The more you continue the illusion of control, the harder it is to take away the soul lessons that in truth you really want to learn.
- Ask for support and guidance from the Universe along the way, and trust that it is always there to support and love you on this journey of learning. Cultivating the feeling of being loved and supported always may not be something you are familiar with yet, but you wouldn’t be reading this if you didn’t know what it meant and weren’t ready to begin practicing. Even a few minutes once or twice a day of cultivating a feeling of loving energy all around you from the Universe can begin shifting your vibration in a big way. This will allow you to be open to learning from your experiences rather than letting them depress or disappoint you, you are always safe and loved.
Our mission here is to increase our consciousness and evolve, and our world is designed to help us with this. I invite you to welcome each and every growth opportunity that comes your way and allow it to help you transform and deepen your relationship with yourself.
Read more about Spiritual Counseling with Shana Olmstead.
Shana Olmstead, Intuitive Consultant
I see my life purpose as helping people to awaken to the truth of their divine nature, the powerful spiritual beings that they are. I have assisted hundreds of clients in my therapy practice to wake up to the understanding that we are all made of source energy, and are here to increase our consciousness and joy to help the evolution everyone on the planet. I am so excited and inspired to continue helping people through their own awakening! Contact me to schedule an appointment in person in Kirkland, Washington or for a phone or video consultation wherever you are located.
