In his book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey coined the terms scarcity & abundance mentality. Scarcity mentality refers to seeing life as a finite pie, so that, "if someone were to get a big piece of pie, it would mean less for everyone else." It is a state in which we feel stressed, threatened, worried, and afraid we will lose more. We think something is missing or in short supply and we contract. We enter into fight, flight or freeze modes to hold onto what we have and figure out how to get more of what we need. While it can be a focused state, it is often a narrow and rigid one.
From an evolutionary standpoint this was quite effective in keeping us alive as resources indeed were scarce. But in today's world where many of us have our basic needs met, this mindset can lead to fierce competition, comparison and a "drivenness" toward wanting more. We may even use it to prevent ourselves from becoming lazy. When it goes unchecked, it can make it difficult to share recognition, give credit or be genuinely happy for others. Physically, we feel more wear and tear on our systems due to the stress.
Welcome in the abundance mentality.
Covey refers to the paradigm that "there is plenty out there and enough to spare for everybody." In this state, we feel relaxed and expanded. We can tolerate some loss. We see alternatives, and tend to be more creative and generous. We're able to nurture, build resilience and we can focus more on opportunity than threat. It's not simply positive thinking or refusing to see the reality of a situation. In its best use, an abundance mindset helps balance out our scarcity predisposition.
It's important to remember that we all have scarcity wiring in our brains and it doesn't mean there's something faulty going on. Limited resources do exist, whether they be time, money, opportunity or actual goods. Sometimes we do need to mobilize immediately to meet an actual threat.
The invitation here is to balance the scale. By cultivating an abundance mindset, we can still pursue our goals, monitor for danger AND do so from an expanded place. One that allows us to better identify actual vs imagined threats, access our resources and see our options more clearly.
Dialing Down Scarcity
Watch your mind
- Notice when your mind is scanning for threat & getting ready to mobilize
- What situations spark the sense of loss or not enough?
- Ask - Am I overestimating this threat?
- Check in - Are you basically ok right now? Breathing, fed, hydrated, roof over your head, etc
- When you come up with a list of limitations about something, write them down and put them aside. This acknowledges them, but lets them live elsewhere so your brain energy can focus on opportunities.
Avoid comparisons
- It's funny, but rarely do we compare ourselves to those who have less.
- Nothing ignites scarcity faster than comparing yourself to someone else's perfectly curated instagram.
Pay attention to the company you keep
- While you can't weed out all the negativity and naysayers, you can consciously choose to seek people who have a more positive, abundant mindset.
Dialing up Abundance
Focus on what you have
- When you have a sense of safety & satisfaction, take it in - "I'm good right now"
- Recognize opportunities and resources you already have. Too often we dismiss or underestimate our own capacity.
- Incorporate a daily gratitude practice
- Abundance is a reward. Over time, rewards are a more sustainable source of motivation.
Practice Generosity
- Being generous is an expression of abundance. It feels expansive.
- You can be generous with your time, attention, money, compassion - the list of possibilities is enormous.
- Often when we give, the world starts giving back.
Zoom Out
- Look at the big picture. Zooming out guards against tunnel vision by giving us perspective and a better sense of time.
Take action
- Create win-win situations - How can each side leave with a sense of accomplishment?
- Deliberately set aside time for "Possibility Thinking"
- Build - Think what you could have in a short span of time if you spent just 5 minutes a day building this resource!
