Lately, I have been focusing quite a bit on creating and strengthening an abundance mentality for myself. It’s not so easy to maintain it though.
Much of society seems to be built on a scarcity mentality. A mentality that tells people that there is a lack in life. That opportunities are few and far between.
This is of course useful for society because if people feel that there is a lack, then you can get them to buy stuff. And so the economy and society can continue to live and prosper by reinforcing a scarcity mentality in people.
But the scarcity mentality can be quite painful for the individual and create a lot of unnecessary fear, anxiety and desperation.
An abundance mentality, on the other hand, tells you that there are always new chances and opportunities. This relieves much of the pressure you may feel if you have a scarcity mentality that makes you think that you only got this shot right now. Or makes you feel like an utter failure just because you just stumbled and things didn’t work out.
An abundance mentality allows you to see life in a more long-term perspective. And it can help you improve your performance since with it you’re creating a lot less pressure and anxieties within your own mind.
If you have a scarcity mentality then you will probably take things too seriously. You may think to yourself: “If I fail, the sky will fall”. It probably won’t, though. But you think it will, you become overly nervous and POOF! you have created a self-fulfilling prophecy of failure because your inner, self-created negativity puts obstacles on your path to success.
If it’s a game, then you may fumble with the ball. If it’s an exam, then you may not have been able to sleep and will perform poorly on the test. If it’s a date, you may come of as too needy and nervous and not as your usual, more relaxed and confident self.
Here are a few tips that I’ve found to be useful to create and reinforce your own abundance mentality.
Focus on the abundance, not on the lack.
What you focus on, you will see in your world. Since you can’t take in all impressions around you, your reticular activation system – your focus system in the mind – will bring into focus what you focus your thoughts on.
This will allow you to see the abundance in your world that you may be missing right now. If you for instance have a lack of money, then don’t focus on your lack. Focus and think about the abundance of possibilities in the world to make money.
Focus your mind on that and soon ideas and opportunities to make that happen will start to “pop up” in your world. It’s almost a bit freaky how things that holds solutions for you – perhaps books or acquaintances – that have been there in the background for quite a while just one day suddenly jumps out at you.
Appreciate.
One quick way to revert from the pretty normal habit of thinking about what you don’t have is simply to appreciate. Appreciate your food, life, your roof, your friends and family and so on.
This can not only turn a sour mood into a more positive one within minutes but also help you notice possibilities you have missed or forgotten. And create a more open vibe within you, a vibe that makes it easier to focus on the abundance. So, make habit of appreciating for a few minutes each day.
Get an abundance vibe from other people.
Since you get a scarcity mentality from the input from, for instance, advertising and media then you can change your input to change your mentality.
Cut down on watching the news. Tivo your favourite shows and skip the commercials. Or just cut down on your TV and media consumption, period.
Replace the scarcity vibe your get from that input. How do you do that? “Hang out” with people that have an abundance mentality.
Read, listen to and watch personal development material. Besides reading your favourite personal development blogs, check out products by people like Brian Tracy and Wayne Dyer. Read success stories in books and magazines. Have a positive attitude to the abundance and success of your friends, family and co-workers. Hang out with people in real life that has more of an abundance mentality and less of a scarcity mentality.
Be selective with what you put into your mind. Create your own environment of abundance.
Remind yourself.
Even if it feels like you have a scarcity right now, you can turn that around by reminding yourself of all the things to appreciate in your life.
Or you may remember previous times when you had an abundance. Perhaps you had several business or job opportunities lined up. Remind yourself of such times. Realize that you can recreate similar circumstances once again.
Remind yourself on a daily basis.
It’s very easy to slip back into your old thought patterns. You just forget about what you should be thinking about.
A useful tool to keep yourself from slipping is to use external reminders. You can for example use written notes posted at places you can’t avoid seeing several times each day – your workspace, fridge and mirrors – or put a bracelet on your wrist. Seeing encouraging words or quotes that reminds you of your new abundance mentality can help your mind snap back into the right headspace once again.
Finally, try to adopt a more positive mindset in general. Without such a mindset, if you are bogged down with negative thoughts all the time, then it will be hard to create and believe in an abundance mentality.
One starting point for positive thinking with practical tips can be found in Take the Positivity Challenge!
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My word for 2008 is “Abundance” so this article seems like it was written just for me! Excellent points, thank you.
Thank you for the wonderful post. Great information. I am so inspired by people that I now meet who are talking about abundance, not in a materialist way, but in an integrity, spiritual way. As in, what can I give so that I may receive abundance? WOW. And humans are finally getting how easy it is. I’ve been doing a lot of readying on abundance and have found that a lot of what blocks abundance is our feelings. What is it that we are feeling that we sabatage the Universal flow of abundance? Very intersting questions that I’m now pondering.
FYI: I received a book from a friend called I.M. Heart. It’s by Sue McDaniel. It’s a wonderful book on awareness of our feelings, how we process them from both the love and fear sides. It gives tools and strategies on working through all that stops us from abundance. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.
Thank you again for the great post!
Mary :>)
I believe too that there’s more than enough of everything to go around, just that very few people is willing to take it! I mean all you’ve got to do is ask for it. Ask and you shall be given, knock and the door will be answered. What’s the worst that could happened? You’ll just end up with status quo that’s all.
Thanks for the article. Just the thing I needed. Actually; I’ve been planning to look up an article about the abundance mentality for over a week now. I decided to go to your website because I felt quite negative about a job interview tomorrow and what showed up? This article! So thanks :)
Thanks for your articl, it has really done a great help to me. I felt very happy reading this because people are always jelous of me by creating problem to me at my job side which makes me always fill so sad.
excellent. beautiful article and exactly what i needed to read. for the longest time i had this almost innate sense that i had to hoard everything-time, money, resources- to myself. Thank you for illustrating that we can let go and be a lot more giving
Having an abundance mentality makes me feel excited. It takes work tho.
I agree with you. I am the president of Esperanza de Cambio (Hope of Change, in English) in Huaraz Peru. I try to partner with other NGOs sometimes successfully and other times, not so much. I think president/directors’ egos have a lot to do with not sharing ideas and resources. In the end it is those we hope to help, the less fortunate, that suffer. I am in favor of a cohesiveness and accountability between NGOs. Co-operation and joint ventures are a wonderful idea. Best to you there.