Abundance or scarcity?

• Are you in changing times?
• Are opportunities abundant or scarce?
• How aware are you of how this mindset changes your responses?

Here, red¹⁰ ‘s Will Sudworth – with curated AI assistance – shares his take on the classic psychology of “abundance vs scarcity” mindset.

Are you in a time of change?

Are you like Alisha, who I spoke to last week? Not her real name, Alisha’s department will finish a significant project over the next 18 months and unless new projects come in, they will need to let go of around 30 good people.

Or are you in a similar position to Marc? He’s receiving a financial package as he leaves the large pharmaceutical he’s been dedicated to for over a decade and is weighing up what he will do next.

I’ve been in both of those situations, personally. I’ve coached people in both of those situations. I offer to you the psychology of the “abundance vs scarcity” mindset, as I find that the mindset you choose will…

…alter the lens through which you see the world…
…and that lens will then alter the way you to respond…
…and the way you respond directly impacts the results you’ll get.

The scarcity trap

Imagine a world where there’s never enough – not enough time, money, opportunities, or love. This is the realm of the scarcity mindset. Those caught in this mental trap often find themselves:

• Constantly comparing and competing
• Hoarding resources and information
• Feeling stressed and anxious about the future
• Hesitating to take risks or try new things

A scarcity mindset whispers that life is a zero-sum game. If someone else wins, you must lose. This perspective can lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy, where fear of ‘lack’ creates the very shortages one dreads.

The abundance alternative

Now, picture a world of infinite possibilities, where opportunities abound and success is not a limited resource. This is the abundance mindset in action. People who embrace abundance tend to:

• Celebrate others’ successes
• Share knowledge and resources freely
• Approach challenges with creativity and optimism
• Take calculated risks and embrace change

An abundance mindset recognizes that there’s more than enough to go around. It fosters collaboration, innovation, and a sense of possibility that can transform lives and communities.

What does this mean for Alisha and Marc?

Alisha understood the two mindsets straight away. Understandably, her immediate response was “I want us all to have an abundance mindset yet recently we were too optimistic on opportunities: we created lots of business cases which were a waste of time as the organization was very strong on keeping a flat budget. I’m not going to lead people on like that, again.”

I have empathy for Alisha and a huge empathy for Marc.

I set-up as a freelancer in the middle of the first big worldwide recession in decades. I allowed it to push me towards a scarcity mindset, which resulted in me seeing the world become very ‘black’. I know what it’s like to literally lose sleep.

I learnt the hard way that it is even more important to have an abundance mindset in this environment. I also learnt that I could have an abundance mindset AND be realistic on the situation. In fact, the more data I had about the situation that clients were in, the more opportunities I could see once I chose the abundance mindset. I’ve since learnt that this doesn’t need to be an either/or (and I’m now very aware that either/or is a Thinking Trap ).

In case specifics would be helpful to you as you read this, a realistic yet abundance mindset led me to a path whereby:

• I chose to become more flexible , working on something that was fun and social yet wasn’t my end goal – so that I had an income stream and a network – the mixture of these two factors took away the fear I was choosing to feel.
• I found that once I could “take or leave” client work, I responded better to clients. I then noticed how my ‘scarce time’ became more attractive to clients; my freelancing started to work.
• I noticed how I was taking opportunities rather than losing them or not even seeing them in the first place.

How do the two mindsets change the way we act and behave?

The AI tool Perplexity helped to write this article. It scanned all the articles on abundant vs scarcity mindset; I’ve shaped these helpful suggestions on the ways in which our mindset shapes our actions and, consequently, our outcomes:

How can we cultivate an abundance mindset?

Here are some edited strategies from Perplexity to nurture an abundance mindset:

What will you do?

Step 1 – Is becoming aware of which mindset you are choosing

Step 2 – Is to practise the mindset you want

As you cultivate an abundance mindset, you’ll likely notice changes not just in your own life, but in your environment. Your positivity and openness can inspire others, creating a ripple effect of abundance in your community and beyond.

In a world that often seems defined by limitations, choosing abundance is a radical act. It’s a declaration that you believe in possibilities, in growth, and in the inherent goodness of life.

Some people have a model of the word such that as they embrace this mindset, they may find that the universe has a way of conspiring to help them, turning their abundant thoughts into abundant realities.

So, which lens will you choose to view the world through?

The choice, as always, is yours. Yet remember – in the grand tapestry of life, there’s always room for more threads, more colours, and more beauty. Why not choose abundance?