A Scarcity Mindset Today Limits Your Vision of Tomorrow

I was saddened to hear of a talented athlete who was recently featured in the national news for unlawful conduct (again).  So much talent under so little control.  A couple of years ago, he seemed destined to live out a hall-of-fame level career, now he’s headed nowhere, and fast. His vision for the future is looking pretty bleak.

When I look over my life, I don’t have any regrets. Have I made mistakes? Yes. Have I ever had a time when I was very disappointed? Yes. Still, somehow I have always learned from my mistakes, overcome disappointments, and moved forward. Even if I make a mistake, instead of dwelling on it, my thinking usually goes to considering my next options.

I realized that my perspective comes from principled decisions supported by an abundance mindset and a grateful heart.

  An Abundance Mindset

People with an abundance mindset believe that today’s short-term pain, sacrifice, and investment in time, energy, and money, will eventually bring long-term growth, blessings and success.

People with an abundance mindset view their resources as a farmer views seeds. A successful farmer liberally sows seeds, trying to ensure a good fall harvest. He believes in the principle of sowing and reaping. The more he sows, the more he reaps.

Successful leaders and people with an abundance mindset see their resources as sufficient (plentiful) seeds to be sown. They know the harvest will come and more will be created.

“You can’t harvest if you haven’t planted.”

– Bobby Albert

Scarcity Mindset

Some leaders and people find it hard to invest resources because they feel so deficient (with a scarcity mindset). They always feel (in an expedient way) that their commodities are about to run out.

Consequently, people with a scarcity  mindset tend to be protective of what they have and what they know. Their mindset encourages them to be selfish with their time, talent, and money.

Observation: People with a scarcity mindset have a real challenge seeing where they are going – their vision.

You may ask, “Why is that so?”  I believe it is because people with a scarcity mindset never let go of what they have – and when you don’t let go of what you have, you can never fully reach out for and grab hold of a greater vision of what could be.

People with a scarcity mindset think short-term while people with an abundance mindset think long-term where they are going – their vision.

Best-selling author John Maxwell talks about the gap between two significant questions:

• Can I? – A question asked by those who have a scarcity mindset.

• How can I? – A question asked by those who have an abundance mindset.

Which question do you most often ask?

A Contrast in Mindsets

Consider the differences between scarcity and abundance mindsets.

A Resource for You

Would you like to have a simple reminder of the important concept of the abundance mindset vs. the scarcity mindset? If you’re like me, you could benefit from a visual reminder of this important principle. I have created a printable page that highlights the differences in these two mindsets.

Please click <here> to download my Abundance vs. Scarcity Mindset printable.

The more we understand the differences between an abundance mindset and a scarcity mindset, the more likely we’ll make principled decisions from a place of abundance!

And the more likely we’ll see where we are going – our vision.

Do you have a scarcity mindset?  Or do you have an abundance mindset?  Which question do you often ask, “Can I?” or “How can I?”  Please leave your comments <here> and share this blog posts with family, friends, and co-workers.