Presented by BetterHelp.
Thanks to today’s technology, we’re surrounded by carefully curated images of people living their so-called best lives on social media and on television. The truth is it can be easy to feel like someone else has more than we do, and that there’s not enough for everyone to go around
In a scarcity mindset, we tend to look at a negative situation as being caused by finite resources that remain fixed without hope of change. For example, say you apply for a job and someone else gets the job. Having a scarcity mindset could lead you to a harsh conclusion about how someone took the job away from you. When in reality, there are many jobs out there. There may even be a better job out there that you’re more suited for. But if you’re stuck feeling negatively, then you’ll have a harder time seeing the potentially good outcomes that could await.
There are also times when negative thoughts can become overwhelming, and it’s important to seek the help of a therapist. You may want to consider an online therapy platform for its ease of use and flexibility. With a service like BetterHelp online therapy, you can attend therapy with a licensed therapist conveniently from your own home. Just know that there’s help out there.
Let’s take a look now at some of the ways you can begin to transform a scarcity mindset, and start living a life filled with more abundance.
Table of Contents
What Happens When You Change Your Focus
Changing your point of view can change your life, but sometimes it’s not enough. When someone gets hyper-fixated on scarcity, or anything else for that matter, then you begin seeing more of that. When you’re fixated on scarcity, you’ll see everything as a result of scarcity. This phenomena is due in part to the body’s Reticular Activating System (RAS), which acts as a kind of filter for how we see things. The good news is we can learn to filter out more of the bad stuff, and keep in more of the good stuff simply by changing our focus.
Practice Gratitude
There are many ways a scarcity mindset can distort reality, but no one has to be stuck in a scarcity mindset. Practicing gratitude is one of the most powerful ways to banish a scarcity mindset, and there are so many easy ways to do it. Grab a pen and a piece of paper, then just start writing down who and what you’re grateful for today. There are journals and apps with prompts to get you thinking about the many things to be grateful for.
Make gratitude a daily practice, and you’ll start to see more abundance in your own life. When you become more focused on abundance and seeing possibilities, then it can lead you to seeing more positive things in your life.
Consider Talk Therapy
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is particularly effective for improving emotional wellbeing and redirecting a scarcity mindset. You don’t even need to have a diagnosable mental illness in order to benefit from cognitive behavioral therapy. Many people engage in talk therapy to help them improve their relationships, become better parents, and achieve goals in their career.
Using CBT or talk therapy can be an effective way to shift your scarcity mindset into a happier, more abundant way to live. You can access CBT programs through self-guided apps and books, and through in-person therapy and online therapy services.
Look At The People Around You
The people we surround ourselves with tend to rub off on us. For some, this may mean that they’re receiving the negative thought patterns of the people around them. Not every relationship is healthy, and that’s okay. It doesn’t mean they’re bad people, but they may be hypercompetitive and incapable of celebrating the success of anyone but themselves. In order to redirect a scarcity mindset it’s important to surround yourself with people who can celebrate you and know there’s plenty of success to go around.
Identify And Challenge Toxic Thoughts
Because the scarcity mindset is so taxing, it can lead to negative coping mechanisms like overindulging in alcohol to relax from the stress. People who are engaged in a scarcity mentality are also more likely to hold negative feelings of jealousy and stress. In order to stop the cascade of negative thoughts that come with a scarcity mindset, we must first identify them. Once you notice a negative thought, write it down. Then challenge the thought. Brick by brick, you can build a healthier, more abundant mindset.
Takeaway
Think of all the perks that come with shifting from a scarcity mindset to an abundance mindset. When we’re in growth mode, we can think of all the ways to expand and learn. Imagine how boring it would be if things were static and had no chance to grow and change? Having an abundance mindset can make life more interesting, fun, and rewarding.
