The Hidden Modes of Scarcity Versus Abundance Mindsets | #THEHUE
Exploring the less obvious types of the scarcity and abundance mindset and why transitioning is critical.
Have you ever been in a situation where you’re so overwhelmed by fear that your body physiologically freezes? Have you ever been in a moment where the list of things you need to do in a day completely derails your mind into a spiral of anxious worry? Have you ever found yourself in a moment where your thoughts paralyse you into inaction, even though nothing else stops you but your mind?
No one is immune to the impunity of the mind. While every person experiences subjective degrees of internal chatter, part of the skill of being human is in dealing with the vitality and volatility of the mind.
And yes, judging from the flourishing industries of self-help, therapists, and coaches, being human in 2024 is a skill to hone versus a natural talent. Somewhere in history, we’ve severely lost our way. A lot of us are so out of touch with ourselves and the natural world that we literally spend money on services and products that help us try to be more human. Think about that; we need to be reminded of how to be human and to thrive at it— to thrive at being ourselves— is an entirely different conversation and a genuine new level to attain.
Side note: This is why I find the realms of self-development so incredibly fascinating! From the physical to soul-nurturing categories, I’d be the first to admit that I am where I am thanks to my insatiable curiosity and exploration of the ideals of self-help, self-care, healing, and all related matters.
While I credit myself for doing the work and research, I owe my progress to the wealth of theories and knowledge that’s helped me be more comfortable being myself and being with myself.
I find the quest to become more of myself, separate from society’s demands, a hard pursuit. But isn’t that a peculiar thing to admit? I find this reality both completely strange but intriguing.
It’s why one of my life’s missions is to continue this journey of going deeper into myself with passion and vigour. I am curious about what it truly means to become the highest expression of yourself and reach for my highest potential—and, of course, sharing as much as I can with as many people willing to listen, as this is my mode of paying it forward. But I digress.
Among the many dichotomies of human flourishing, your state of mind and perspective in how you view the world are foundational. Your default mindset determines your experience with reality. While the scarcity mindset sees limitations, the abundant mindset sees possibilities. These two extremes exist on a continuum. While some lean more towards one than the other, all are subjective, and everyone has some degree of either or a combination of both.
Neuroplasticity and A Growth Mindset
With scientists proving the brain’s plasticity— its lifelong ability to shape-shift alongside the experiences and exposures it encounters, psychologists like Carol Dweck have also confirmed that a growth mindset can transform not only the beliefs you uphold but also translate to concrete outcomes in your ability to retain information and how you perform.
Both neuroplasticity and a growth mindset support the claim that nurturing an abundant mindset is a beneficial pursuit because both encourage the rewiring of your brain in helping you to shifting your mind towards more advantageous circumstances. What science tells us is your brain is not static. Even if you lean more towards a scarce mindset on most issues, there is always hope in shifting yourself towards a more abundant mindset, regardless of age.
Objective Subjective Judgement Is Hard
Yet, no matter your enthusiasm for the abundance mindset or your intelligence in comprehending these concepts, what’s harder to see is how to objectively judge yourself in different moments in your life. Do you operating more from a scarcity mindset or from an abundance mindset? Is an abundant mindset helping you to flourish, or is a scarcity mindset holding you back from thriving?
To objectively and accurately identify where you stand takes a lot of self-awareness, courage, patience, and egoless evaluation. That’s why it’s hard to notice your own biases. Admitting to yourself and others that your mindset is what limits your path to flourishing is a humbling exercise. It’s much easier to blame the situation, other people, or something else than it is to admit that you are the one responsible for limiting your own progress.
