By Leah E. Reinhart
How Scarcity a Mindset Affects Us
I listened to Marie Forleo’s YouTube episode on scarcity with Michael Easter https://youtu.be/AWdMByKjocA?si=ShJgsOKOvygtD5Qw, followed by Lewis Howes’s interview with Rhonda Byrne on an abundance mindset today https://youtu.be/5ypFjAkwVZ4?si=hhvmPWv-3Uxg3uZD. It made me think of my scarcity mindset and how the law of attraction taught me how to change my scarcity mindset. If anything has showed an example of a culture of a scarcity mindset, it was the pandemic. Toilet paper was a hot commodity where people hoarded like it would never be there again.
Scarcity mentality is a mindset that makes us believe that there is not enough of something, such as money, time, love, happiness, or attention/approval from social media. Scarcity mentality can make us feel anxious, insecure, or unhappy, and influence our decisions and behaviors.
What Causes a Scarcity Mindset?
A Scarcity mindset can be caused by various factors, such as:
- Environmental factors: Scarcity mentality can be triggered by the actual or perceived lack of resources in our environment, such as food, water, energy, or space. For example, if we live in a drought-prone area, we might develop a scarcity mentality about water and try to conserve it as much as possible. Environmental factors can also create social or psychological scarcity, such as competition, discrimination, or isolation. For example, if we live in a crowded or unequal society, we might develop a scarcity mentality about opportunities or relationships and try to secure them as much as possible.
- Personal factors: Scarcity mentality can also be influenced by our personal experiences, beliefs, or emotions. For example, if we grew up in poverty or faced financial difficulties, we might develop a scarcity mentality about money and try to save it as much as possible. Personal factors can also create cognitive or emotional scarcity, such as stress, anxiety, or depression. For example, if we have a busy or demanding schedule, we might develop a scarcity mentality about time and try to manage it as much as possible.
- Cultural factors: Scarcity mentality can also be shaped by our cultural norms, values, or expectations. For example, if we belong to a culture that emphasizes materialism or individualism, we might develop a scarcity mentality about possessions or achievements and try to accumulate them as much as possible. Cultural factors can also create moral or spiritual scarcity, such as guilt, shame, or emptiness. For example, if we belong to a culture that imposes strict rules or standards, we might develop a scarcity mentality about freedom or fulfillment and try to pursue them as much as possible.
What are the Consequences of Scarcity a Mindset?
Scarcity mentality can have both positive and negative effects on our lives, depending on how we cope with it and what we value. Some of the effects are:
- Positive effects: Scarcity mentality can make us more focused, motivated, or creative. For example, if we have a scarcity mentality about time, we might become more efficient, productive, or innovative in completing our tasks. Scarcity mentality can also make us more grateful, generous, or compassionate. For example, if we have a scarcity mentality about love, we might appreciate, share, or express it more with others.
- Negative effects: Scarcity mentality can make us more anxious, insecure, or unhappy and jealous. For example, if we have a scarcity mentality about money, we might worry, hoard, or stress about it more. Scarcity mentality can also make us more selfish, greedy, or aggressive. For example, if we have a scarcity mentality about opportunities, we might compete, exploit, or fight for them more.
Recognizing Your Scarcity Mindset
The first step is to recognize that it exists and see if you have it. I grew up in a household that had a scarcity mindset surrounding money. Fear coexisted with every conversation surrounding money; set the thermostat to 55 degree or the PG&E bill would be too much, always save money because you could get laid off, debt is a sin, money is the root of all evil, why buy new clothes when there are hand-me-downs. The list is infinite, but not money. Must save and never enjoy your money, because some disaster is right around the corner.
I was a child during the gas shortage where certain license plates had certain days they could get gas. You had to hurry to the station or you’d wait in horrendous lines. We can’t forget about droughts. California has had their share of droughts. Everyone had buckets in their showers catching every last drop to water their yards. Before the pandemic and toilet paper crisis, my mother would only let us use 5 squares at a time. I’m not sure if I followed that one to a “t”. It’s not like she went with me to the bathroom. It’s no wonder why I had a scarcity mindset and a bunch of nervous energy.
You Don’t Have Keep Your Scarcity Mindset
These are some of the ways we can overcome scarcity mentality, but they are not always easy or feasible to implement. Scarcity mentality is a complex and dynamic problem that requires careful analysis and evaluation of the causes, consequences, and solutions. Scarcity mentality can also vary depending on the context, the resource, and the people involved. Therefore, we need to be flexible and creative in finding the best ways to deal with scarcity mentality in different situations.
The beautiful thing about our brains is that we have neuroplasticity. That means our brains can rewire and form new synopsis. I learned about the law of attraction back in the early 90’s. Stephen Covey’s book The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People, Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich, and Bob Proctor’s You Were Born Rich. They are just a few books that taught me about an abundance mindset. Reading those books and completing some of the exercises in them helped me get out of scarcity and showed me a new way of thinking and living. Had I not had a scarcity mindset, I’d never would’ve had the desire to achieve more in all areas of my life. I took notes from my successful clients and noticed how their mindset differed from those in lack. They had the abundance mindset as opposed to a scarcity one.
Abundance Mindset
I can tell for sure that for me, my mindset controls my everything. Once my attention was focused on possibilities as opposed to the impossible, thing changed for me really quickly. I applied the message in Napoleon Hill’s book and especially from Bob Proctor’s book and miracles or at least what seemed like miracles appeared.
I started my 20’s as a single mother living in an apartment where the hookers smoked crack in the laundry room. If nothing doesn’t motivate you to move from that, I don’t know what to say. At the age of 25 I bought my first condo. It wasn’t my dream home but it was a start. The mentality and belief in my family, was that you weren’t considered a grown-up until you owned your own home.
Being the black sheep in my family was a strong motivator to prove everyone’s thoughts about me were wrong; how I’d never get ahead in life, or I ruined my life by having a child out of wedlock and being young, I was doomed and would struggle for the rest of my life. It felt great to prove them all wrong. Even greater was how I saw the patterns of each of my mindsets and how it worked. It was after a few tweaks in my thought patterns, I could see abundance flow from money to relationships. I even wrote and published my memoir. https://wellnessgardentoolshed.com/product/manifesting-me-a-story-of-rebellion-and-redemption/
Old Habits Die Hard
If you have been hard-wired to a scarcity mindset there’s a good chance you’ll slip. Life happens and can throw you curve balls when you least expect it. From as awful as a death and war to as minute as getting sucked up by approvals on social media, it’s easy to fall back into lack. None of us are immune to this. It’s important to feel your feelings and process them. Any sadness or fear will shoot down any abundance from coming your way. And if this does happen to you. There are a few tips to get you back on track.
- Get outside and look an evergreen tree. There isn’t a shortage of leaves or pine needles. If you’ve ever driven up the northern west coast of the US, you’ll know what I mean. Abundance is all around in nature.
- Go to the beach, sand. You can’t get rid of sand if you tried. You may not want the sand but think about each grain. True abundance.
- Watch a happy movie, or listen to your favorite song or podcast. Emotions are your true indicator of what your mindset is. I bet you like several songs and movies.
- Remember money isn’t the root of evil and can be used for good. There’s tons of money on this planet and you deserve to enjoy it too. If others can acquire money, you can too, especially in this US.
- Meditation helped me to manipulate time. I concentrated in my meditation to always have enough time. To this day I have time to work, write blogs, walk the dog, chores, and still have time to watch whatever guilty pleasure on the tube.
- Read books like The Secret from Rhonda Byrnes and hear other people’s stories on how they used the abundance mindset to manifest in some cases miracles and know you are just like them.
- Pray. Never underestimate the power of prayer. Ask for what you want, not the know how, just what your heart desires. It doesn’t even matter if you’re religious or not. It never hurts to ask something to a higher power when things seem too difficult on this plane. I did what people deemed improbable, get money back form one of the top banks after it being lost to a scam. Prayers help with that one.
- Focus on the end goal or desire. Your brain has a reticular activating systems. Basically it’s like a Google search. Once you put a word or topic in the search bar, you get everything having to with that subject. Your brain will immediately start seeing or it gives you opportunities to act on to bring that thing to you.
There’s Enough to Go Around
Call me selfish and I’ll agree. The more we think in an abundance mentality the less we are fighting over things and the more secure we feel with ourselves. Competition is great in sports, but not with your partner, friends, coworkers, or family. There is enough to go around, especially in the U.S. There’s enough to go around the world. If only we didn’t have greed, how wonderful would life be.
We all are biproducts of our environment. If you grew up where money, food, love, or approval was scarce, you come by a scarcity mindset honestly. The good news is you can learn from others how to get into an abundance mindset. You can’t change anyone except yourself. So why not start there. When you change, the people around you will respond differently to you. An abundance mindset isn’t for only a select few. Everyone has free will to think anyway they see fit.
I’ve seen how my thoughts manifested into the physical world. I can even go back to when I was teen and bought my horse at 14 years old. Where there’s a will there’s a way. Even if it seems impossible. The answers do come in the form of an idea, or an offer, or meeting a new person to help you along the way.
I hope this blog has given you some insights into why we have a scarcity mentality, how it can affect us, and how to change it to an abundance mentality. Never do I tire of this subject. It excites me so much that I had to share. If you have any comments, questions, or feedback, please feel free to share them with me. Thank you for reading! 😊
Abundance is not something we acquire. It is something we tune into.
