Abundance vs Scarcity Mindset

Do you understand the difference between an abundance mindset and a scarcity mindset? Let’s dive into more detail.

Basically, these two mindsets are direct opposites of each other. The abundance mindset (sometimes called a growth mindset) is when you believe in your heart that you are meant to achieve great things. You believe that you can always learn something new and apply it positively to your life. You believe that you are in complete control of your life and if you’re not happy, you have the power to make changes to live the life you want.

The scarcity mindset is the exact opposite. With this mindset, you believe that this is all there is to life. You might believe that you’re cursed or that bad luck always finds you. You think that you’re stuck in your job or in a relationship for any number of negative reasons. You think you’ll always live paycheck to paycheck or that you can never “level up” to a new home or job.

Scarcity Mindset

For those living in a scarcity mindset, they often focus on what they’re missing, what they don’t have, and they let fear play a part in any decisions they have to make. Finances are a common fear for those with a scarcity mindset. For example, if you have little money, instead of seizing the opportunities to earn more, you focus on saving. So you cut all non-essential expenses and invest in nothing. In this way, you only enhance the scarcity fear.

In fact, our mind filters information, and if we focus only on problems, problems will appear all around us and we will be blind to any new opportunities.

The scarcity mentality is based on the belief in limited resources. Instead of searching for a new job in your small town (for any number of reasons/excuses), you stick to a job in which they exploit you. You feel money is scarce so you cut expenses and save. Satisfying relationships are a rarity so you’ll accept anything from others just to feel wanted.

In the end, those who feel scarcity focus their attention on how to save what little there is instead of dedicating themselves to learning and improving the quality of their life.

In short, it is a question of always focusing on the half-empty glass and on how to avoid emptying it instead of focusing on how to fill it more.

Abundance Mindset

The complete opposite mindset from scarcity is abundance (or growth mindset). Those with an abundance mindset focus on all that is good, beautiful, and satisfying. If someone has something you don’t have, you look at him not with envy but with joy. It is not stealing anything from you, and it is a sign of hope that you can get it too (if you wish) shortly.

Looking at things from an abundance perspective doesn’t mean wasting. Indeed it implies respect and cares for things. The abundance mindset helps to:

• + create positive feelings towards others
• + be grateful for everything you have
• + think about and give to others
• + strive to improve and grow

The abundance mindset allows you to step out of your shell confidently and commit yourself to further growing your abundance. You believe there is nothing that you can’t learn or achieve because you’re thinking positively about life and you have the desire to improve yourself. Yes, that college course is expensive but it’s an investment toward a better job. Not happy with where you live? You decide to move to a safer city or town that offers the schools you want for your kids. For every perceived problem there is always a solution for those with abundant mindsets.

Not many people think about their mindsets or they’ll identify as being pessimistic vs optimistic. These also correlate to scarcity vs abundance but these names/titles reach deeper emotions than simply being pessimistic. Scarcity and abundance identify your inner beliefs about yourself and about life. It is a radical change of perspective that we are not used to. The next question is: How do we shift our mindset to abundance?

How to have an abundance mindset in 7 days

The awareness that having an abundance mindset can improve your quality of life is not enough to succeed. You need vigilance over your thoughts but also the desire to take action to make your dreams a reality.

Abundance doesn’t just appear because we want it. We can dream of the new job, bigger house, or fancy sports car but abundance is not magic. There’s no fairy godmother waiting in the wings to grant our every wish. You still need to do the work to achieve these things; but as you work toward your goals, thinking positively and having belief in your talents and abilities, you will begin to notice other opportunities appear, which can also lead you to your goals. Those caught in a scarcity mindset most likely won’t recognize those opportunities.

Often our whole education and approach to life have been conditioned by the mentality of scarcity. What memories do you have from childhood about money or abundance in general? Did your parents fight about money? Did they drill into you that “money doesn’t grow on trees,” implying that the only way to earn money is to work hard, possibly at a job you hate?

Abundance isn’t just about money. Did you have a teacher or other adult ridicule you when you made mistakes? Were you told that you wouldn’t amount to anything because you didn’t make straight As in school? All these comments are hurtful and get stored deep inside our psyches. They are ingrained – even if we don’t realize it – and they are the thoughts that hold us back from greatness.

The good news is it’s possible to shift our mindset from scarcity to abundance. Changing perspective takes effort and generates the fear of having to step out of our comfort zone. Any change is scary, even though we know it will be a change for the better.

So, it would help if you had the courage to change and live your life fully. And it would be best if you had the tenacity and the courage to act.

Let’s see how you can change your life by embracing an abundance mindset in only 7 days.

Day 1 // Hang out with positive people

It is easier to see abundance when surrounded by people who see the positive and notice every circumstance’s opportunities. This helps you eliminate the complaints and begin to realize the abundance.

Our brain filters information, and if we focus on the positive and the opportunities, we will notice opportunities appear all around us.

Therefore, avoid situations where the mentality of scarcity dominates. Social media, or the Internet in general, is often populated by scarcity. Digital marketing, for example, often relies on scarcity to push people to buy.

Look closely at people who have an abundant mindset. What do they do differently from others? How do they manage to stay positive, even when YOU think they should feel differently? Tr to learn their winning approach.

Find multiple solutions for every problem

Living in an abundant universe doesn’t mean you have no problems. But in a mentality of abundance, you start with the confidence that there is always a solution. Often you’ll discover more than one. Train yourself to find as many solutions as possible for every problem you face. Put all your creativity into it and put aside fears and limitations.

Every problem is an opportunity. In fact, if you did not have any needs or desires not yet satisfied, you would have no reason to commit yourself to anything. It is precisely your needs and problems that spur you to strive to grow and improve.

It is, therefore, only a mentality of abundance (and not scarcity) that allows us to learn from failures, considering them as opportunities for growth and enrichment.

Day 2 // Practice Gratitude

Gratitude is not just a consequence of the abundance mentality. Realize how grateful you have to be to change your perspective and put aside your grievances, fears, and claims. Have you ever thought that our dear planet Earth is abundant in the whole environment in which we live? Everything has been designed to support life: the right distance from the Sun, the rotation of the planet in one way rather than another, the tides produced by the Moon, the changing of the seasons, the variety of fruits of the Earth. Everything is designed to give every creature on the planet everything they need to live well.

Voicing gratitude for what you have in life this very moment is also important for nurturing an abundant mindset. Focus on the positive and you’ll invite more positive into your life. The same is true if you focus on the negative; which would you rather have?

Day 3 // Create situations where everyone wins

If you think of your personal advantage and the good of others, you will receive a lot in return. Indeed, the best way to improve your abundance is to give.

Of course, this does not mean that you have to cancel yourself as a person and think only of others. You need the right balance and proper self-care.

Creating situations that everyone can benefit from is the opposite of being dominated by the scarcity mentality. It is the opposite of what drives some people to accumulate a lot of money and then live almost in poverty for fear of losing them.

If you give generously, you will receive a lot, although not necessarily directly from those who received from you. Not only money, but a smile or a hug can also be a great gift. Often bigger and more valued than anything material.

Giving to others must come from the heart and not from a calculation of convenience. It is, therefore, about love. And love by its nature is abundant.

Love expands and multiplies. The more you give, the more you get. The greater the love you give, the more you will receive in return. And the more you make the world a place of mutual happiness and welcome.

Day 4 // Have positive conversations

Instead of talking about things we don’t have or complaining about a coworker, let’s engage in conversations on positive topics: We can ask friends what has been going well lately; focus on the big projects we are working on, or what we are really passionate about; talk about their personal successes, experiences, and not the things that we will never be able to achieve or agree on. Normally, you cannot be in this mode all the time, but it will be a useful conversation starter to steer the discussion away from gossip, jealousy, or envy.

Day 5 // No envy, no fear

Not envying anyone means facing the complexity of reality, understanding with realistic optimism that everyone has their own problems, their strengths, weaknesses, and envying only means knowing a partial aspect of reality. In the mindset of scarcity, comparing yourself with others is all that matters. In the mentality of abundance, what matters is how we compare ourselves with ourselves – how we manage to live our ideals in everyday life. The abundance mentality is, by nature, positive and optimistic and drives away the fear of the unknown or the future. Abundance is also the awareness that you have to jump in and commit to life so you can reap the results.

Day 6 // Cultivate a Critical Attitude Towards the Media (Including Social Media)

Almost every form of communication leads to the cultivation of desires for things we don’t have; that’s the key element of the scarcity mentality. The advertisements are made on purpose, but this is only one side of the equation. Very often, programs, articles, or posts on Facebook or Instagram are written to cultivate desires. The best way is to take an objective and detached attitude towards the media. On social media, people often post only the glamorous aspects of their life, showing the right things, carefully avoiding the routine and (usually) the bad things. If you spend time comparing yourself to someone else’s super positive highlights, it will be natural to feel inadequate.

With an abundance mindset you can look at these photos and appreciate the composition and beauty. You can also set limits to your viewing time and be at peace not having your phone attached to your hip 24/7.

Day 7 // Find the bright side

Bad things always happen. What can change is the way we deal with adversity. The scarcity mentality leads to complaining about how unfair fate has been and noting how others are always luckier than us. Whenever we are faced with a bad time, let’s stop and think about the positive things that can come out. The negative aspects are likely greater, but there are always positive aspects.

That means finding an opportunity in every problem and you can consciously choose to see things this way. The important thing is to face challenges with optimism to influence the people around us to embrace this more productive mental attitude.

This is NOT to say that it’s wrong to feel emotional when faced with a problem; that’s just human nature. What you feel is what you feel and no one should criticize you for your feelings. However, the key is to not dwell on the problems. How you react to a problem and recover afterwards will go a long way toward changing your mindset forever.

Living with an abundance mindset

Living with an abundance mindset allows you to fulfill yourself more, to live your life fully and completely. Some people manage to live happily in unimaginable conditions, all because they believe they have everything they need. There are also people who achieve incredible results with very few resources. Whether there are few or many resources at your disposal, your mental attitude can make a difference, and thinking and living with an abundance mindset can turn your life upside down in a good way!

Are you ready to embrace a new life? Get started today using the tips in this post, and you will definitely be ready to live your best life.

I hope you will take these tips and implement them every day in your life. Make the decision to cultivate an abundance mindset and be conscious and mindful of your words, thoughts, and actions. Before you know it, you’ll start to notice abundance around every corner.

If you’d like more support in changing your mindset, I invite you to take my Vibrant Woman course, learn more here.