How To Adapt An Abundant Mindset, Releasing Scarcity (Why We Shrink Part 2)
In the last blog we looked at one reason why we shrink: We get distracted from our higher purpose to focus on avoiding criticism from others.
Another reason that we shrink is because we are affected by a scarcity mindset. A scarcity mindset causes us to view life as a zero-sum game. Zero-sum is a mathematical representation of a situation in which each person’s gain or loss is exactly balanced by the losses or gains of the other participants. So, if I win you loose or if you loose, I win. In this worldview, we are all fighting for our slice of a small pie. This is the exact opposite of a worldview of abundance, which I define as simply, there is enough for everyone. What if we shifted our mindset to realize that we are not fighting for one measly slice, but that we each have our own pie? This mindset is completely attainable when we are open, creative and innovative.
Scarcity Mindset: A Workplace Scenario
Let’s look at one scenario as an illustration of the above point. Imagine that you are an employee in a company and multiple people are competing to work on an existing high exposure big project. Due to the potential positive impact of this project on one person’s career, there is a lot of politicking and jockeying for the “rising star” to be assigned to this big project. If one person gets the project, it is natural to assume that the other person loses. Yet, that is just one perspective.
What if the person who isn’t assigned to this project has their own brilliant idea of something that they see a need for in the organization and are more passionate about working on starts working on this thing? This person takes the time to do an inventory of their skills, of what they are passionate about, and decides to align it to a big need in the organization. With some creativity, innovation and hard work they execute on this idea and are able to make an impact in their small area of influence.
They show success on a small scale, so the organization gets bought in and decides to broaden the scope of their project. In this scenario, they are no longer fighting over a slice of the old pie but they have now graduated to baking their own pie. That my dear is their winning scenario. They were successful in creating a new opportunity to shine where non existed before and are able to make an impact that benefits the entire organization. They have bloomed where they are planted.
Even-though, this example is centered on an employee in an organization, this can apply even more so if you are an entrepreneur operating in a saturated market space. You can create your own pie by applying the same principle of being observant to identify a need, thinking outside the box on how to fill this need and aligning with some skills that you already have or can attain.
This abundance mindset is so expansive that it will require out of the box thinking and innovation. It requires us to be observant to identify opportunities and to work diligently to deliver on them. Abundance isn’t passive or reactionary but unbelievably proactive.
How to Adapt An Abundant Mindset
Having an abundant mindset is transformative, but how do you develop it?
1. First, it’s imperative that you identify how you have been limiting yourself via a scarcity mindset.
How we think has the ability to serve us or hinder us. It will contribute to our success or be the source of our downfall. When we change the way that we think, we open up ourselves to a whole new world of possibilities. The first step in transforming the way we think from scarcity to abundant thinking is to identify the ways in which we currently mentally rehearse scarcity. Here are just a few examples of scarcity thinking. If you regularly think any of them, you have some work to do to shift your mindset to that of abundance.
If someone else is successful it will jeopardize your ability to be successful (this thinking leads to jealousy and an inability to celebrate others’ wins)
You struggle to share credit with others (this demoralizes a team environment)
You feel threatened when others disagree with your opinion (may even perceive differences in opinion as disloyalty)
You are unwilling to share knowledge, information or your contacts with others (many times becoming territorial with what you perceive is your “job” to do)
You feel threatened by competition (maybe based on the fear from your inner critic that the “competition” will outshine you and that ultimately you are not good enough)
2. Practice Gratitude
Gratitude is a gateway to abundant thinking. Gratitude is powerful for many reasons, one of them being that it rewires and trains our brain to see the plethora of good things that are already taking place in our lives. When we begin to realize how many things we already have going for us, it opens up our minds and hearts to the possibility that more of the same will come our way. This grateful mindset reduces a horde of toxic emotions that severely limits our effectiveness such as fear, despair, frustration, resentment, anger and resignation. On the flip side, gratitude improves our mental strength and resilience in the face of difficult or stressful events.
You can begin to build your gratitude muscle by keeping a gratitude journal where you list 2 - 3 things that you are grateful for at the beginning or end of your day. Inviting other members of your family, or even team members to be a part of this daily exercise where they express what they are grateful for is a great way to strengthen the relationship that you have with others.
3. Brainstorm possibilities
A scarcity mindset is stuck on just one option. There is a view of only one possibility for things to work out. This limited perspective is usually inaccurate, as there is rarely ever just one possibility. There is not just one important project, one great conference to speak at, one topic that people care about or for the single ladies - not just one guy on the face of the earth (Can I get an amen?) When we expand our options and open our minds to the possibility of more, we are amazed at what else is possible that we haven’t yet thought of. I love brainstorming freely to get my creative juices flowing and I always end up realizing just how many options there really are. Try this whenever you are feeling stuck in the scarcity mindset. Find a blank sheet of paper and write LIMITLESS POSSIBILITIES on top and just write every single thing that comes to your mind no matter how ridiculous it may seem and write without stopping for 10 minutes. You will be amazed at all the options that will emerge that you never thought of before.
4. Ask yourself powerful questions
Someone with a scarcity mindset will either not ask any questions because they don’t believe there is any other answer than the one that they are stuck on or they will ask disempowering questions which will limit or eradicate any other option. Examples of disempowering questions are; Why is this happening to me? What will people think? Who is to blame?
Yet when you find yourself stuck in scarcity, one of the most instrumental tools to shift into abundance is transforming your questions powerfully so that they can lead you to new unexplored opportunities. Powerful questions is one key strategy utilized by effective coaches to help their clients become unstuck. You can coach yourself by learning to ask powerful and open ended questions. Below are some of my favorite powerful questions to discover abundant options:
What else is possible?
What haven’t I thought of?
What is truly important to me?
What impact do I want to make?
How do I want to make people feel?
Notice that these powerful questions never start with why, because from a neuroscience standpoint, why puts our brain in a defensive or justifying mode. We want to create an environment for learning and for exploration with the questions that we ask so that we can uncover new possibilities that we never thought of.
5. Capitalize on your difference
The days of being ashamed of your difference is so 1995! Millions of people worldwide are finally beginning to realize that the difference they have tried to minimize and hide for many years is the very same thing that can set them apart. The cookie cut prototype of the leaders in your field or industry can be totally un-relatable and super boring to different segments of the market, but just who you are can be that breath of fresh air that those segments are waiting for. So while you may think, oh this topic is addressed already by so many in the market, guess what? The market hasn’t seen someone from your gender, your national origin, your accent, your neighborhood, your religious background, your skin color, your life experience, your upbringing, your native language, your skills, your passions, your whatever makes you amazingly unique do that thing that you want to do. So drop that scarcity mindset that the opportunities are already taken, you can launch into new territories that you are uniquely fit to fill. For more information on how to leverage your difference as your differentiator and unleashing your unique brilliance, check out this blog post.
All this positive talk may seem a bit too “pie in the sky” for some of you readers, but I would like to ground you in some concrete reality. In many cases we cannot prevent what circumstances we find ourselves in or the card we have been dealt in life but what we undoubtedly do have is the Power of Choice. This is what personal empowerment is, the power to choose how we will react. The late Stephen Covey says in his book 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, “In the space between stimulus (what happens) and how we respond, lies our freedom to choose. Ultimately, this power to choose is what defines us as human beings. We may have limited choices but we can always choose. We can choose our thoughts, emotions, moods, our words, our actions; we can choose our values and live by principles. It is the choice of acting or being acted upon.” This quote has been one of the most influential things that has played a role in my own abundance mindset transformation. No matter what happens, we always have the power to choose our response. So in the face of the next event that normally provokes your downward spiral into scarcity, I challenge you to choose one of the 5 practical actions listed above and see how this new response impacts the final outcome you experience.
Powerful Questions for Action & Reflection
1. How has a scarcity mindset caused you to shrink and limited your innovativeness in the past?
2. Name one action you can take this week to start developing an abundance mindset?
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Ok, that's all for this week my dear treasured friends, don't forget that you are a light, so shine!
