"Fear is the path to the dark side" -- Yoda (the little green dude from Star Wars)

At any given moment, you are either in the competitive mindset or the creative mindset. It's always one or the other, but never both. A creative mindset attracts success; a competitive mindset repels it. It really is that simple, and here's why:

The concept of competition is based upon fear: fear of failure, fear of someone else taking what you want, fear that there won't be enough to go around, fear of being taken advantage of, or laughed at, or criticized or rejected. Fear is the fuel of the competitive mindset and it keeps millions of people living in lack, limitation, misery and poverty.

To attract prosperity and success, it is necessary to think from a different perspective, a perspective of abundance, opulence, well-being and joy. That's why the (fear-based) competitive mindset must be overcome. Fear simply will not attract success.

But I'll be the first to admit, it is sometimes difficult NOT to think competitively. I've been studying the Law of Attraction for many years and I still have days where the old competitive voice tries to "creep back in" and direct my thoughts and actions. Luckily, that voice is not nearly as strong these days, and I'm usually able to shut it down quickly.

Most of us have been "programmed" (and that word is probably appropriate) to think from a mindset of want, lack, limitation, and above all else, fear. The average person spends an enormous amount of their time and energy "waiting for the other shoe to drop."

If things go right for us, we begin to feel uneasy, as if it is somehow unnatural for us to succeed and have a good life. This is the deep seated paradigm of fear that so many of us accept as our reality. But it doesn't have to be that way...

One simple technique that I've used over the years to stay out of the fear-based mindset is "exclusion." Exclusion is the art of becoming extremely picky about what we will allow "on our radar."

A simple example of this is to never watch films or read books or magazines that are based on conflict or competitive thought (or even get into conversations about these things).

It goes without saying that television is also a big part of the problem, and we must adopt an ultra selective attitude about which programs (if any) to watch. Personally, I recommend watching as little TV news as possible.

Most of the things you will "learn" from a news broadcast will be based on lack, limitation and fear. Even worse, the stories conveyed on the news are usually things we have no control over.

In other words, all we can do is "feel bad" about the situation--there is no constructive action we can take. This produces an "unresolved conflict" in the mind (think of a computer with an endless loop hang-up), and it is the source of much of the stress and anxiety we see in the world around us.

I admit it has taken time to drop some of these old habits (I actually used to be a TV news junkie), but it has really been worth the effort. I try to remember:

"If it's not something I want in my life, I don't want to know about it."

I find that the more selective I get about this, the less competitive thought is an issue. I sometimes call this being a "media snob" and it really does help reduce the competitive mindset.

In fact, the concept of exclusion is one of the most important things I work on with clients in one-on-one sessions, because dropping the fear-based competitive mindset really does open up the entire world before you. It is the secret that makes "real magic" possible.

The little green dude was right: fear (and it's ugly cousin, competition) really is the path to the dark side. Avoid it like the plague!