Do you long for a breather from life's hustle and bustle?
It’s time to ditch the scarcity thinking and embrace enough.
Are you caught up in a vicious "keeping up with the Joneses" cycle and wishing you could break free?
Hear me. You are not alone, and you are not deficient. Let me draw back the curtain and show you the deception that keeps you trapped — scarcity thinking.
Daily you receive messages reinforcing your attention to the threat of scarcity. These messages use insufficiency, shortage, rarity, and infrequency to spur action. They are the manipulations favored by advertisers and politicians, such as the following:
Get them before they're gone!
For a limited time only.
Limited edition.
Only a few spots left.
One-time only offer expires at midnight.
My opponent wants to take away [fill in the blank].
The other party wants to force you to [fill in the blank].
My opponent's plan will [eliminate jobs, take your money, etc.].
Scarcity has a powerful influence on your behavior because it activates fears deeply connected to your self-esteem:
Fear of missing out (FOMO)
Fear of being rejected
Fear of being excluded
Fear of losing status
Fear of not having what you need
Fear of being surpassed by others (jealousy)
Fear of losing worth
Mental health and wellness include cultivating healthy self-esteem, a feeling of achievement and worth. When your self-esteem lowers, you experience depression and disconnect from others. Therefore, perceived threats result in automatic action to preserve your sense of self-worth.
Yes, those advertisers and politicians are crafty. They know precisely the buttons to push to generate action. And they do so shamelessly.
Scarcity is a zero-sum game. If you win, I must lose; if you get, I go without; if you get more, I get less. These messages invade your thinking and show up in every area of your life. They drive insecurity, grind culture, and your relentless chase of more.
Scarcity thinking also infiltrates cultural norms such as:
Elitism
Getting "my fair share"
Beating out the competition
It is so ingrained that you likely never challenged yourself to reject these common thoughts and behaviors even though they trap you and disrupt your well-being. However, there is another option available to you with intentional practice.
Let me introduce the opposite of scarcity which is abundance -an extremely plentiful or over-sufficient supply. When you adopt an abundance view of the world, you recognize that the opposite of less isn't more; it is enough. You free yourself from a comparison culture that determines your self-worth in relation to others. When you apply an abundance perspective, there is more sharing, appreciation, and community.
As a helpful illustration, let's examine each of the above cultural norms from the lens of abundance.
If authority, power, and influence, the foundations of elitism, were boundless, hoarding them would be useless. No one would have domain over what is best, and exclusivity wouldn't be a practice because there is always room for more in abundance.
Concern about "splitting the pie" and how big a slice you receive becomes irrelevant because there are endless pies to share. The share that is enough to meet your needs is always available to you.
Winning business is no longer a foot race to capture a limited audience. In abundance thinking, all boats rise on the tide together. Collaborating to build the market generates a wealth of prospective customers to share.
Abundance thinking invites win-win unity. Urgency transforms into when the time is right for you. The measure of success is having what you need rather than accumulating more than others. Abundance is freedom from all those fears that proliferate under the oppression of scarcity.
The tyranny of scarcity is pervasive. Replacing its ingrained assumptions and beliefs requires purposeful effort. However, the reward is peace of mind and liberty from false constraints.
Here are three tips to guide you on this path to liberation:
ONE. Notice zero-sum framing and replace it with abundance framing.
One of the most significant learnings from being a parent is that love is boundless. You never think, "I only have a cup of love to share today, so how should I dole it out." No matter how much love you give, more is always available whenever needed.
Now, apply this idea to other areas of your life. When someone else wins, celebrate their victory and know your win may be different and come later, but it awaits you.
TWO. Notice when you are chasing more and replace it with the question of enough.
Whether attending a meeting at the local Chamber of Commerce or reading posts on social media, the push is more customers, more revenue, more accolades. The message is you can never rest because success requires the endless pursuit of more. HOGWASH!
You get to decide what you want. And when you achieve it, you are allowed to say, “I have enough.” Before you start the next project, campaign, or goal, ask yourself, “What does this get me, and do I truly need it or is managing what I already have enough to satisfy me?”
THREE. When your fears are triggered (see list above), ask yourself, “What part of me is being disturbed by this?”
Because a threat to your ego automatically produces a protection response, it is vital to disrupt this pattern. Asking, "What part of me is being disturbed by this?" activates your mind while grounding yourself in your body. Now you can step back and examine what is triggering you as if it were a Rubik’s Cube. Rather than reacting, you can challenge the legitimacy of your fear through a frame of abundance.
Scarcity thinking is embedded into the culture of capitalism and is the foundation for most of the assumptions and beliefs you've been taught about the world your entire life. Therefore, embracing the lens of abundance requires you to undo much of your automatic thinking. It is a journey, not a destination. Be patient, be intentional, and be courageous. Your future, healthier self will thank you.
Guest Blog written by: Rita Ernst
Rita Ernst is an expert in organizational psychology, the owner of Ignite Your Extraordinary, a business consulting practice, and the author of the book Show Up Positive, which she released earlier this year. She delivers customized solutions, keynotes, and workshops that break through workplace hostility while restoring pride, teamwork, and performance. Learn more HERE.
