Monday Musings - Abundance vs Scarcity

How often are we told that there isn’t enough to go around? That there are finite resources. That if we have something, someone else is unable to have it. A zero-sum game. That if someone else has something, we can’t have it, because there’s not enough to go around.

Now compare this with the opposite of scarcity. Abundance! The belief that there are more than enough resources to fulfil the needs of everyone within a society.

Compare the emotions the two of these concepts bring up within ourselves.

Scarcity brings out fear, jealousy, selfishness, competition.

Abundance can engender peace of mind, generosity, happiness, creativity, health and wealth.

Feel the difference. So how did we get to this place of believing that scarcity is the way it has to be?

Often historical events play a part. In Europe, World War II created a huge sense of scarcity in millions. My grandparents lived through the war, my parents were born during or just after. There was rationing in the UK until the 1950’s. Of course these attitudes permeate into the consciousness of that generation and are passed down to the next generation.

I remember in the 1980’s as a child being told that when I didn’t eat all of my dinner, there were starving kids in Ethiopia who would love the opportunity to eat my leftovers. (I couldn’t work out at the time why we didn’t just parcel them up and send them over rather than giving me a hard time!!) Why did I have to eat all my dinner? Because my parents were told to when they were my age, because there was rationing, food was scarce and even after the war and rationing ended, the scarcity mindset continued.

My wife is Russian. She had relatives who were in the Siege of Leningrad where tens of thousands died of starvation. Even today, those generational scars are ingrained to the point where she can’t even bear to throw out a piece of bread.

We also aren’t helped by the financial institutions. Let’s face it, they are not there to help you, they are there to make profits.

Educational institutions don’t educate correctly when it comes to personal finance (if they do at all). We are not taught that the financial strategies employed by corporations can be employed on a personal level to achieve greater wealth.

I love this question from the book Killing Sacred Cows.

“If only a minority of people are wealthy, why do we follow what the majority of people do financially? Just because 50 million people are doing a dumb thing, doesn’t make it any less dumb.”

Sometimes you need to step away from the crowd who are steeped in a scarcity mindset and join the minority who believe in the amazing abundance available on this planet.

The George Carlin quote, “It’s a big club and you ain’t in it.” Remember that one? Do you think that comes from a place of abundance or a place of scarcity? Why can’t we be in the club? All we have to do is educate ourselves properly. You just need to learn the rules. Those rules that are not taught to us by schools and are hidden from us by financial institutions.

But if you look diligently enough you can find the answers. In fact, if you are here, then you have them at your fingertips already…. You just need to start learning.

Educate ~ Enable ~ Empower