Scarcity vs. Abundance Mindset
I’ve been reading a lot lately about the impact that your mindset has on your attitude, your choices, and, ultimately, your life in general. We can either frame our thinking around love or fear.
Another way to think of it is: Love=Abundance and Fear=Scarcity. An abundant mindset sees the beauty of life, remembers that there is room for everyone, and understands that love is the way we make a difference in the world. A scarcity mindset only sees negativity, competition, and defensiveness. It is rooted in fear, shame, and feeling like you’re not enough and there’s not enough to go around.
This mindset shift is hard, especially if you’re like me and often err on the side of realism (okay…maybe pessimism.) It’s hard to break the habits we’ve had our entire lives. However, little-by-little, day-by-day it becomes easier. I’ve been trying to apply an abundant mindset to all of my life, including my creativity and business.
It’s easy to feel like I don’t have enough time to create, to research, to plan, to set goals. It’s easy to compare myself to other creatives and begin to feel jealous that I’m not where they are. It’s easy to feel like I’m not unique enough or talented enough to make a difference with my work. Having this attitude isn’t going to propel me forward or add joy to my life, unfortunately. When I replace these thoughts with thoughts bred out of abundance and love, I feel more at ease.
Reframing thoughts filtered through scarcity into thoughts filtered through abundance can look like:
I’m not good enough ————> I have what it takes, and I’m getting better day-by-day. I have what I need to learn and grow.
The market is too saturated with artists/products ————> There’s room for me and the originality I bring.
I don’t have time to be creative ————> I can find little moments throughout my day.
I’m not progressing fast enough/I’m not where I should be right now ————> There’s no timeline. I make my own path and I am able to set my own goals and achieve them.
I want to be where this other artist is professionally ————> I don’t know their story or path. I can only follow my own path and trust that I’m exactly where I need to be.
There’s too much competition ————> We all bring unique styles and talents to our work. There’s room at the table for all of us.
By shifting my mindset into a more uplifting attitude, I’m able to be more productive, more content, and an overall happier person. It also helps me when I’m in a creative slump. I can give myself grace and trust that creativity will return and I can rest when I need to.
I hope this resonates with you and gives you something to think about!
