Ah, the spoils of summer. Lots of sunlight, beach fun, bright colors, travel, and more. Many of us spend the rest of the year longing for this season and then remark at how quickly this time has passed. Some of us even experience a sense of regret and sadness at the first glimmer of back-to-school talk, fearing that all the fun will be gone. We forget that the earth keep turning and the season will again return.
We create a sense of scarcity, a feeling that there is simply not enough of something we want.
The Scarcity Problem
Scarcity is nothing new to us. From an early age, we are taught to think in terms of limited resources and, competition to attain these resources. We worry about having enough, enough opportunity, enough money, enough acceptance, and sometimes even enough beauty. And this scarcity mindset effects our work. We might feel tension. We might worry or experience anxiety around having enough prospects, clients, advanced skills for a promotion. We worry that if we make a mistake, there might not be a second chance. For some, scarcity manifests as perfectionism, or procrastination, a freeze response from worrying that our actions may not be perfect enough to capture what we desire. I’ve seen people get stuck and hold back from taking action because they feared not having a perfect resume, marketing campaign, perfect body, or the perfect partner, just to name a few.
The real problem with scarcity is that it lights up the fear center in your brain which then limits your ability to think creatively and productively. When we are fixated on something, we get tunnel vision and cannot see the resources and solutions that are often right in front of us.
The Truth
Having spent decades ingrained in the world of marketing and sales, I can tell you that so much of the scarcity messages we receive are tactics used by marketers, media outlets, and politicians who hope you will then turn to them to solve your problems.
The truth is that each of us is more powerful and resourceful than we think we are. We have the ability to turn all obstacles into gifts and opportunities. We can recover from mistakes and discover new possibilities. And that process is so much easier with an abundance mindset, rather than a scarcity one.
With an abundance mindset we think in terms of gratitude for what we do have. We can recognize the wealth of resources in the world. A shift from scarcity to abundance is possible when we quiet our fears. Then we are better able to recognize the difference between our perceptions and reality.
Where might an abundance thinking take you?
Let’s look at a money example. Many people worry about having enough money to retire. They set a magical age, such as 65, to end their work life, and then experience anxiety about funding that life. I get it! I am not far off from that age myself and must admit that I do consider what my budget will look like in my later years. But when we feed into a scarcity mindset, we set ourselves up for suffering more than is necessary. We might miss the positive side of working longer, staying connected and engaged in the possibilities of meaningful, purpose-driven work. A second career, for example, could ignite our passions while providing needed funds and staving off retirement depression.
The point is that scarcity produces limiting beliefs and keeps us imprisoned in our fears. When we change our mindset, we can creatively and boldly explore what we want with more freedom. We can take action, make mistakes, and try new paths without fear, knowing that if we miss an opportunity, another one might be right around the corner.
If you want help, reach out.
“A bird sitting in a tree is never afraid of the branch breaking, because its trust is not on the branch but on its own wings.”