What is the scarcity(poverty) mindset and where does it come from? How do I know if I might be operating from it?
Most of our beliefs around scarcity, we learned from a young age.
Growing up, my family wasn’t rich but we weren’t poor. There was a roof above our heads, food to eat, clothes to wear. Going to school, we got to go shopping for new backpacks and stationary in the beginning of the school year, and mom and dad always made sure to plan a vacation for us during the summer break.
Yet, coming from an immigrant family, I remember my mother often saying something like, “back home there are kids going hungry so make sure not to waste any food and eat everything on your plate.”
Scarcity is the belief that there is just not enough to go around.
I guess it never occurred to me how fortunate I was but from that time, I always had this belief around there not being enough food in this world to feed all the children. Now I know that sounds quite dramatic, but there was some truth to the saying even today. What does not eating all the food on my plate and children starving in other countries have anything to do with each other? From a young age, this is one example that introduced me to the scarcity mindset.
Essentially the poverty or scarcity mindset is the belief that there is not enough for everyone. Therefore, I have to get mine first or else there won’t be enough for me. One way to know we have that mindset is when there is a lot of emotional energy that revolves around our stuff. It’s like our stuff defines who we are and our worth.
So whether it was that newest toy, latest game console, newest car, etc, from a young age we were given a chance to subscribe to "there not being enough" mentality and that’s why we have to fight to get, not give.
So during this holiday season ask yourself these questions
Do I operate from a scarcity mindset? Do I have a lot of emotional energy around my “stuff?”
Is it logically justifiable to have these emotions? Are the “things” I have emotion around truly irreplaceable?
Do these “things” define my worth and identity?
Self awareness is key in tackling scarcity vs abundance
I’m sure you’ll wrestle with these questions during the holidays. But I challenge you to do an exercise of extravagant giving, and feel the freedom mentally and emotionally when you give away the very things that try to define you. When we are able to truly give from a place of abundance, we’ll be able to experience the qualities such as generosity and love that define us, not our “stuff.” If you are anything like me, you will probably not feel this "freedom" right away. If anything, you will be experiencing the scarcity mindset battling you and saying "Why are you giving? What will you get in return? Is that guaranteed?" Even if your mindset doesn't shift overnight (and most likely it won't), the first step to living an empowered life is to increase your self-awareness around what is holding you back from it.
As we head towards Christmas and the Holidays, we wish you a safe, warm, and abundant time with family and friends! Next week, we’ll talk about shifting from scarcity to abundance and what kind of life that creates for us on a mental and emotional level.