Abundance Vs Scarcity Mindset: Everything You Need To Know

Our mindset plays a profound role in shaping our reality and how we experience the world. Whether we realize it or not, we all develop beliefs and perceptions about how plentiful resources are and what opportunities are available to us. These perceptions fall along a spectrum – on one end is a scarcity mindset rooted in lack, and on the other is an abundance mindset characterized by positivity and hope. In this article, we will explore the differences between scarcity vs abundance mindsets, provide examples of each, and offer tips for cultivating a more abundant way of thinking.

Jump to:

• What is a scarcity mindset?
• How does a scarcity mindset affect your behavior?
• Signs you have a scarcity mindset
• What causes a scarcity mindset?
• Scarcity Mindset Examples
• What is an abundance mindset?
• Signs you have an abundance mindset
• How to develop an abundance mindset
• Abundance Mindset Examples

What is a scarcity mindset?

A scarcity mindset is a conscious or subconscious belief that there are not enough resources to go around.  

This mindset reflects the belief that every resource is like a finite pie — meaning when one person gets a piece of it, there’s less for everyone else.

The term “scarcity mindset” was originally coined to describe people lacking financial stability and is often still used in terms of money or time. However, it’s important to note that a scarcity mindset is very pervasive and whether we realize it or not, it tends to apply to every resource (money, good jobs, love, fame, etc.). If you have a scarcity mindset about not having enough money or time, you likely also feel like you have to compete for love, attention, peace, recognition, fun, etc.

How does a scarcity mindset affect your behavior?

Having a scarcity mindset rather than an abundant mindset can have profound effects on our behavior including how we approach relationships, new opportunities, money management, and more.

A constant feeling of lack or scarcity leads us to living in survival mode which can have detrimental effects on our mental health, physical health, and our behavior.

A belief that life is a zero-sum game where there is only a finite amount of each resource to go around, puts you in direct competition with anyone else gunning for a piece of that pie. This pervasive sense of competition and the constant struggle to get what you need is exhausting and makes it very difficult to maintain a positive attitude about your position in the world. 

But like any change worth making, the first step to overcoming this type of mindset is admitting you have it in the first place. 

Signs you have a scarcity mindset

A scarcity mindset is not something we create intentionally. Someone displaying these signs of a scarcity mindset may not even realize the root cause of the symptoms. Here are some of the ways that a scarcity mindset may show up in your daily life.  

Short-term thinking

When you’re living in a place of scarcity, the feeling of lack and the fear that comes with it takes up a huge portion of brain space. It’s very difficult to plan for the future or consider future consequences when maintaining your safety in the present moment is such a looming priority.

Competitive relationships

A scarcity mindset in relationships can lead to an underlying competitive attitude that makes it difficult to build intimacy and trust with another person. It’s hard to turn off a scarcity mindset in some situations but not others. Although none of us wants to feel like we’re competing with our loved ones for resources, the only way to ensure that we don’t is to overcome the lack mentality and approach relationships from a place of abundance. 

Low empathy for others

A 2023 study on the effects of a scarcity mindset on empathy found that people with a mindset of scarcity had a more dampened reaction to witnessing the pain of others than those with an abundance mindset. Again, living with a zero-sum paradigm of life takes up a lot of resources in the brain and simply leaves less processing power for things like empathy and compassion.

Lower IQ

According to WebMD, having a scarcity mindset can lower your IQ by up to 14 points! A scarcity mindset interferes with thinking, planning, holding on to information, and logical reasoning – all of which contribute to a high IQ.

Poor impulse control

With the limited resources available in your brain when it’s in survival mode, there is very little energy available for willpower and self-control. This can lead to poor impulse control and rash decisions that ultimately make your already stressful situation worse.

Procrastination

A constant fear of “not enough” leads us to overvalue immediate benefits at the cost of long-term ones. In other words, when we believe that if we don’t squeeze the goodness out of a given moment, we may never have the opportunity to do so again, we don’t want to push for delayed gratification. We don’t trust that good things will come back around. This can lead to impulsive behavior as we mentioned before, as well as procrastination, or even feeling paralyzed by indecision.

Greed

Greed often comes from a place of lack. It’s difficult to share what you have when you don’t know if it will be the last you ever have. This is only amplified by the lack of gratitude that is also a symptom of a scarcity mindset.

Narrow-mindedness

Again, the feeling of scarcity creates fear and mental fatigue. Both of these factors contribute to an increased fear of trying new things like a career change or making new friends because drawing outside the lines feels not only scary but literally like life or death. Living with this fear of stepping outside the boundaries makes it hard to see the bigger picture of life. 

A fixed mindset 

A scarcity mindset and a fixed mindset often go hand-in-hand and create a feedback loop. A fixed mindset is the subconscious belief that people are predestined to be who they are and can never significantly change. It makes sense that believing a. you don’t have enough and b. you can never become someone different, can spiral into the belief that you will never ever have enough.

What causes a scarcity mindset?

A scarcity mindset is a feedback loop caused by negative thoughts leading to negative outcomes leading to more negative thoughts.

This can quickly become a paralyzing self-perpetuating cycle that is very difficult to break out of.

Negative experiences can lead us to develop a lens of scarcity, and this scarcity mindset becomes a catalyst for more negative experiences in our lives. None of the items on this list have to become triggers for a scarcity mindset but they certainly have the potential to do so if we’re not paying attention.

Because true scarcity in your life (not enough money, food, time etc) puts a strain on your mental resources, what psychologists call “funneling”, we become less able to think clearly and act proactively to change the situation.

Here is an incomplete list of ways that we may feel desperately lacking for major resources (aka potential triggers for a scarcity mindset):

Being financially unstable

Being overwhelmed by expectations

Fixating on what you’ve lost

Fixating on what you don’t have

Focusing on things you can’t control

Scarcity mindset examples

A scarcity mindset deeply penetrates our self-talk and influences our subconscious minds. Here are some of the ways that your inner voice may articulate a scarcity mindset.

“If my colleague gets a promotion this year, I’m less likely to receive one any time soon.”

“I’ll never get out of the hole I’m in.”

“I don’t have enough to share – I barely have enough for me!”

“I better enjoy this now because it won’t last long.”

“I can’t plan for the future – I can barely manage what’s happening right now.”

“He/she doesn’t deserve good things as much as I do.”

“I don’t have time to figure out a better system.”

“I don’t even want to know what awful things are in store for me in the future.”

“I hate spending money – who knows when I’ll make it back?”

What is an abundance mindset?

A mindset of abundance is a pattern of thinking reflecting the subconscious belief that there is plenty to go around.

This mindset removes the feeling of lack and competition from the equation, allowing us to use our mental resources more productively. Developing an abundant mindset is a powerful tool for changing the way you see and interact with the world. Once you stop living in a world of scarcity, you’ll notice that things begin to shift quickly. Both your personal and professional life can benefit tremendously from developing an abundant mentality.

Signs you have an abundance mindset

You’re optimistic

You’re not concerned about your basic needs being met

You have positive beliefs about your role in the world

You have a growth mindset

You’re not afraid to learn new skills

You have an interest in personal growth

You practice gratitude regularly

You’re foreword thinking

You have an open mind

How to develop an abundance mindset

It’s widely recognized that adopting an abundance mindset is beneficial to creativity, critical thinking, and empathy for others. If you are ready to change your mindset and stop seeing the world through a lens of scarcity, you’re in the right place.

You may choose to implement the following tools over the course of a 30-day mindset challenge. A mindset challenge is just a timeframe during which you commit to examining your thoughts and replacing negative, or in this case, scarce, thoughts, with more positive (abundant) ones. The longer you practice a new way of thinking, the more natural it becomes!

Here are a few ways that you can decrease the negative emotions and outcomes of a scarcity mindset and change the way you see the world.

Examine your limiting beliefs

The first step to overcoming a scarcity mindset and developing an abundance mindset is to take a close look at your subconscious limiting beliefs. 

What do you believe is simply “not possible,” “never going to happen,” “not in the cards for you,” etc.? 

Likewise, what do you believe about people who have the things you want? Do you believe that money is dirty, that rich people are evil, that lucky people are obnoxious, that luck creates laziness, etc? 

If you want to change your mindset, you first have to deeply understand your current mindset. Try to find how a scarcity mindset is currently playing into your beliefs and your narratives about the way the world works. This way, as thoughts pop up that are rooted in a place of scarcity, you’ll start to notice them and recognize that they are not necessarily true or facts. 

Focus on what you have

One of the major hallmarks of a scarcity mindset is a fixation on what you don’t have, whether it’s money, time, a job, love, friends, etc. In order to shift to a more abundant mindset, it’s important to start noticing all of the things you do have. Sometimes we may need to avoid thinking about one particularly painful category altogether for a while to focus on the areas where it’s easier to recognize what we have. The cliché phrase, “A rising tide lifts all boats,” applies well here. You can train your brain to notice abundance in places where it’s easier first, and eventually, you’ll get better at noticing abundance everywhere. 

Clear out the clutter in your life

A scarcity mindset takes a huge toll on our brain space and critical thinking. The last thing that you need when trying to transform this mindset is more distractions! One important step you can take towards developing an abundance mindset is to clear out the clutter in your life. This means material things, habits, obligations, and even people that are taking up too much space in your brain and making you feel overwhelmed and spread too thin. It’s time to spring-clean your psyche. Say goodbye to whatever is no longer serving you.

Keep a gratitude journal

A gratitude journal is a great way to begin noticing the positive things in your life rather than the negative. A gratitude journal is a place where you write a list of things, people, places, opportunities, etc that you are grateful for. The more you focus on the positivity and abundance in your life, the more it will expand. As they say, “Where attention goes, energy flows.”

Focus on possible positive outcomes rather than negative ones

As we discussed earlier, the world of scarcity is created by a feedback loop – a scarcity mindset leads to more scarcity which reinforces the mindset. The only way to break out of this cycle is to interfere with the feedback loop and change your thinking. Next time you find yourself worrying or ruminating about how things might go wrong and what will happen if they do, try to switch gears and think about possible positive outcomes instead. How could things surprise you and go right? What would you do then?

Meditate on the feeling of abundance in low-consequence scenarios

Again, where attention goes, energy flows. Meditation is a greatly under-utilized tool in Western society. An excellent way to develop your abundance mindset is to meditate on the feeling of abundance. Allow yourself to sit with your positive thoughts and good vibes as long as possible. Our brains are very malleable and can completely rewire when we start thinking different thoughts. It may seem hard to believe that developing a mindset is just a matter of practice, but it’s true! This one small thing can become the catalyst to completely change your life.

Celebrate other people’s wins

If you believe in any sort of higher power, karma, or the law of attraction, then you know how important it is to put good energy into the world. If you are upset or jealous because other people get good things, you’re creating negative energy and that is exactly what will come back around to you. One way to take responsibility for your reality is to notice and celebrate good things in your own life and the lives of others. The longer you practice this, the easier it becomes and the more your abundant mindset will develop!

Abundance mindset examples

An abundance mindset will change your inner monologue to become more positive and hopeful. Here are some examples of thoughts that may come from adopting an abundance mindset.

“I have plenty of time to finish everything that needs to get done.”

“I have plenty of time to achieve my goals.”

“I’m so happy to see others doing well. It gives me hope that I can have the same things in my life.”

“I can share what I have because I know it will always come back to me.”

“A little bit of planning/work now will save me time/money/stress in the future.”

“I can’t wait to see what wonderful things are coming to me in the future.”

“I love spending money on things that bring me joy.”

Final Thoughts

Approaching life from a perspective of abundance allows us to be more generous, empathetic, creative, and proactive. When we believe in possibility rather than lack, we unlock our potential both personally and professionally. Though it requires diligence, developing an abundance mindset empowers us to live fuller, more optimistic lives. I hope you agree the challenge is worth it!