Many things in this world exist on a continuum.  You can be very hot or very cold, or any number of degrees warmer or cooler along an infinite spectrum of temperatures.  Likewise, you could experience your life through an abundance mindset, or one of scarcity, and an infinite number of nuances in between.

Let’s explore the four main stages of moving from a scarcity mindset to one of abundance.  Can you find yourself in one of these modes?

Will there be enough?

Stage 1: Scarcity (or lack)

When you constantly ask the questions, “Will there be enough? What if there is not enough?”, then you are operating from a scarcity mindset.  You see the world through the eyes of LACK, or scarcity.

This may be because you are currently experiencing a shortage of something.  Or perhaps you have experienced scarcity in your past? Maybe you are responding to social conditioning that tells you THIS is never enough?

A scarcity mindset leaves you in the constant pursuit of filling that void, over and over. 

Many people experience scarcity at some point in their lives.  You may lack food, lack money, lack time, or find that other important elements of your life are missing (a partner, a family, an experience you seek, etc.).

Staying stuck in a scarcity mindset is daunting. Our modern consumer society is built on a scarcity mindset.  We have been raised and conditioned to respond accordingly:

• Buy this now – time is running out
• This sale price won’t last long 
• Stocks are running low – grab it while you can
• Deals like this won’t be see again this year
• There is only one Prince Charming
• Your life is meaningless without ———–(fill in this blank – a big house, a new car, a dream vacation)

Think about all the ways our world directs you to live with a scarcity mindset.  Your weekend or holiday time is scarce compared to the endless days you spend working just to get there.  Monthly bills can keep you struggling pay cheque to pay cheque, while a better life is just out of reach. 

It’s easy to see your life as lacking.  Things are lacking.  Time is lacking. Money is lacking.

It’s easy to spend your life in the burden of want, the fear of stagnation and the disillusionment that comes from remaining unfulfilled.

A scarcity mindset is exhausting.  It can rob you of enjoying the things that you do have while you are focused on missing elements.  You can waste a lot of energy on complaining and whining, instead of on positivity, solutions and opportunities.  Ironically, many (cash) wealthy people operate with a scarcity mindset. There is just never enough.

Will there continue to be enough?

Stage 2: Fear

As you finally manage to secure MORE – more food, more money, more time – then the scarcity mindset often still lingers in the form of FEAR.

Fear robs you from enjoying the extra resources or time that you have cobbled together.  Fear makes you worried that what you have now will just slip right through your fingers.  Fear makes you wary because at any moment the sky will fall and you will spiral back into the arms of scarcity and lack.

Fear can be a normal response to overcoming scarcity.  It’s a survival instinct that helps you avoid falling back into patterns that created or supported your specific form of scarcity.

But fear is a draining place to live.  Fear leaves you chained to a scarcity mindset long after you have actually broken free. Fear is an illusion that wastes your energy, time and resources. 

You are operating in the stage of fear when you don’t enjoy all the amazing things currently in your life because you continue to focus on the areas that were previously scarce.  You are living with blinders on, focused on lack even while you are, in fact, stable and in a good place.  You may find short-lived moments of accepting abundance in your life, but you do not trust what you have.

It’s easy to get trapped in this stage of fear.

Knowing there is enough

Stage 3: Knowing

When you can let go of fear, when you can look and see that you have risen above scarcity, then you can enter the phase of KNOWING.

Knowing you are secure. 

Knowing there will be enough food. 

Knowing your time is your own. 

Knowing you can continue to produce whatever it is that you need. 

Knowing that, no matter what, the universe is going to respond positively to your needs.

Because you have made it this far. You have released the idea that scarcity rules the world. You are transcending into abundance.

This place of knowing, of trusting yourself and the universe, comes from a place of abundance.

Knowing does not arise from having.  You don’t have to win the lottery, “cash in” on a great deal, luck into better circumstances, meet “the one”, or achieve great accolades in order to reach the stage of knowing. 

You can experience joy, gratitude and peace whenever and wherever you are. These experiences do not depend on your circumstances. They come from inside you.

Knowing is positive thinking, positive action, acceptance and surrender to what is.  Knowing allows you to see the world through the eyes of plenty.

There’s More Where That Came From

Stage 4: Sharing (Giving)

Beyond knowing comes the ability to share and give of yourself, your time, your resources, and your experiences because the possibilities in your life are limitless. 

You are limitless.

Sharing is the peak of an abundance mindset where you can give generously and without expectation of return.   When you give of yourself and your resources, these gifts come back into your life 10-fold.  You can give freely and with your whole heart and mind.

You don’t have to be wealthy to achieve this state of sharing and giving and abundance of thought and action.  Sharing is the polar opposite of the wealth hoarding that we see today. 

It is beyond tragic that the 500 new billionaires created by the pandemic (achieved during the biggest human health crisis in modern history) could end hunger in 2022 with just 1% of their collective wealth (just $6.6 billion) and yet they choose not to do so.  They live in a state of scarcity despite billions.  They live as if they were truly poor. 

When our world reaches a state of abundant-minded people, there is no need for billionaires to exist.  No one needs that much wealth all to themselves. 

In a world of abundant-minded people, wealth gets distributed much more rapidly to where it can do the most good because there is enough to go around. The most fundamental pillar of abundance is that you have so much energy and light and joy that you simply must give it away, share it, lift the people around you as you lift yourself.

The heart of an abundant mindset comes from the certainty that the most important thing you can do each day is help someone else. 

And you can approach your day with joy, gratitude and a spirit of giving whether you are rich or poor.

We see what we want to see – abundance or scarcity.

Your Actions Are What Matter Most

Your actions and mindset fall somewhere on the scale from scarcity to abundance. It has very little to do with your material wealth or social status. It has everything to do with how you live and interact with people and this planet.

Choose to see the world through the lens of abundance. Approach each day with the intent of helping someone else with your experiences, your time, your resources, your support.

How will you live abundantly today?

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Ready to take abundant action?

Join me at: Food Abundance Revolution

Hi, I’m Sue!

I help people discover ways to create abundance in their lives, starting with the food they need to thrive and be healthy.  Join me in creating a food abundance revolution.

Sign up for FAR – and download your free “Cultivate Your Abundance Mindset” Checklist. 

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