How to go from a scarcity to an abundance mindset
Do you operate from a scarcity mindset? Do you find yourself looking at what everyone else has - things, love, time, adventure, money, a big career, etc? If you are asking yourself “Why don't I have these things?”, you have a case of the scarcity mindset. Maybe you are not where you want to be career-wise. Maybe you’ve been saving for a big ticket item and some unexpected expenses came up that squashed that idea. Maybe you feel like you are working just to pay your bills. Maybe you feel like there are not enough hours in the day to do everything you want or need to do. Maybe you feel like you can never get ahead. You look around and it appears that your friends, family members, or neighbors have career success, have money to travel at will, or have plenty of leisure time.
I think we all suffer from a scarcity mindset on occasion. You might have lost your job, are saving to send a kid to college, or just took on a hefty mortgage, making you feel like you might never get ahead. I just switched careers and relocated in my 60s. How am I going to support myself? Am I going to succeed? Shouldn’t I be thinking about retiring? How do people do this?
I decided to turn the scarcity mindset around especially since it created this feeling of not enough whether it be success, happiness, recognition, or whatever I am seeking on any given day.
What got me out of the “not enough” spiral? I started an abundance journal sometimes called a gratitude journal. Yes, I know, you’ve all heard about the many wonders of gratitude. Before you start rolling your eyes consider that everything you have heard about practicing gratitude is true. It’s all about abundance vs scarcity, honoring what you have vs what you don’t have, and living in the moment vs always looking ahead.
I recommend starting your abundance/gratitude journal. It’s fairly simple.
Here’s my recommended process:
Grab a notebook or your digital instrument of choice. I created a spreadsheet on my computer.
Create two columns, one labeled “date” and one labeled “abundance”.
For each day, record anything that you feel grateful for, that gave you a sense of abundance, or just made you feel good. Here are some examples from my list: great dinner with a new friend, played cards with my dad, my brother brought dinner, had a great conversation with Maria, got a new client, discovered a new park with my dog, gorgeous sunny day, the marketing postcards I designed arrived…
Record every day for 30 days or more. I have been doing this for over 30 days and I skip a day here and there and sometimes a few days in a row. If I skip a day or two, I always get back to it because it makes a difference.
What do I get out of this practice? It lightens my day. It gives me perspective. It stops me from comparing my life to others. It keeps me focused on the here and now. I have a full, abundant life with great friends and a supportive family. I kick-started a new career (who cares if I’m in my 60s!). I’m rediscovering the city I grew up in. I’m making new friends which can be pretty difficult as you age. I participate in some amazing coaching communities which is where I got the idea for an abundance journal.
So start your gratitude/abundance journal ASAP. You will start to realize that you have more to celebrate than you thought. You will start to notice that abundance comes your way more often and in new and different ways. Seriously, it’s true. The universe will hear you and deliver.
Cheers for abundance!