Unsubscribe From A Scarcity Mindset

The Scarcity Mindset is when you are so obsessed with a lack of something that you cannot seem to focus on anything else. This is not something we do on purpose. It is the background noise, your brain makes when you cannot get, what you want. But it will cost you. This can cause you to develop “tunnel vision” where all you can think of is the unmet need.

The root cause of having a scarcity mindset could be a life changing event that makes you focus on what you are missing or what you have lost; it could also come from a trauma memory you’re your past where you are reminded of a void you may be experiencing in your life. What a person is lacking or may believe that they are lacking can vary depending on the situation.

Let’s look at two examples for this:

• Weight Loss- If you start cutting out certain foods to try to lose weight, you may feel overwhelmed because you think that you are denying yourself foods that you like. These feelings may end up making you feel defeated and that could lead you to over eating or making poor food choices.
• Time- You may be worried about the loss of time in your day-to-day life; there is just not enough time to get the “must do” list done. The years are going by, and you are not as young as you used to be. Fixating on the passage of time in this manner could lead one to develop a scarcity mindset.

Being upset about such situations is absolutely valid. But if the absence of what you want becomes the focus of your thoughts everyday this can start to take over your life which could result in you making some bad decisions or choices.

Focusing on what you do not have could be, to a certain extent, a motivation factor. But this mindset could start to poison your well-being over the long run. This is because if you are always fixating on the thing, you do not have – it prevents you from being able to be in the present moment and control impulses.

Hyper fixating could lead to intense over thinking. If you become so focused on what you lack and assume things will never change you will never see yourself in a better situation.

A scarcity mindset drains the joy out of one’s life because everything starts to revolve around this thing that one does not have. This can worsen or cause you to have low self-esteem, anxiety, depression etc. While you cannot change this way of thinking overnight, you can be patient with yourself and take the following steps to grow out of a scarcity mindset :

• Radical acceptance – Realign your expectations of people and life to a more realistic one. Tell yourself – I do feel this way and it is valid, but this does not have to totally consume my time and energy. Please note that if you keep trying to suppress these thoughts or deny your feelings they are just going to keep coming back up.
• Practice Gratitude – When you are focused on what you don’t have it easy to stop paying attention to all the good things you do have. Become intentional with your gratitude – by really thinking about the things that are bringing abundance into your life, as abundance is the opposite of scarcity.
• Surround yourself with supportive people – If you find that some of the people closest to you are constantly reminding you of what you don’t have or of what you are lacking this is going to deepen your fixation on what you don’t have. Instead try setting healthy boundaries with such individuals.
• Stop throwing yourself a “Pity Party “ – Self-pity keeps the focus on why things should be different instead of accepting the situation for – what it is . Shift your perspective to the glass being half full and let this cause you to move forward.
• Recognize the possibilities – Focusing on one thing can train your brain to let other things to go unnoticed. Reframe your approach by looking for possibilities and solutions instead of letting the problem get you down.